The Battle Wizard
by BattleWiz88
Summary: A tactician with a mission that will send him everywhere across the continent of Elibe to fulfill. 'Classic' MarkLyn... EliwoodNinian... Hector? Need suggestion.
1. Prologue: The Injury

**The Battle Wizard Prologue:**

**The Injury**

On a hilltop near the border between Ilia and Sacae, stood the Battle Wizard. He was hired as a mercenary to take care of bandits that were coming in from Sacae. He and he alone. Some were surprised when they heard that he was only 18 years old, his skill with the sword, bow, and lance were godlike, and his dark magic, light magic, and anima magic skills were also quite impressive. And he had learned all of that by the time he was 15. He was definitely a prodigy.

Mark had stood there since dusk and now the sun had just come out, giving the Ilian snow an eerie bluish look. Finally, he heard crunchy footsteps approach the pass. Hiding behind a giant bolder, up the rocky hilltop, he looked down to see more than 100 bandits marching across the pass.

When the bandits finally made it to the end of the pass, an explosion was heard. Long before, Mark had planted about three sections of mines, all having five mines each. As he expected, after the explosion, the rest of the bandits rushed forward towards the explosion to meet the enemy, where they met another section of mines….. then another. As the bandits started to move back, Mark rolled several boulders off the hill squashing another 10 or so of them. Just like that, the Battle Wizard had eliminated about 20 of them, not counting the 10 injured. Then he jumped off the hillside and cut off the bandit's escape route. The bandits thinking there was no threat, turned to face him expecting to see many more men.

"Hey, where are the others, and who are you to get in our way!" the leader shouted.

"First of all, there are no others, and second, for your information, I am the Battle Wizard." Mark replied while slowly taking out a long huge blade and an Aura tome. He had never used Aura before and thought this would be good practice. The blade on the other hand was a shiny, gray, double-sided, and seemed to reflect the blue snow perfectly. It also seemed to somehow match Mark's long, raven black hair, his dark, brown eyes, and his green cloak around his blue pants and jacket.

"What? The Battle Wizard…" The bandit exclaimed. 'I heard he defeated 2000 Etrurian rebels in five consecutive battles with but one battalion of 500.'

"Yep, now… enough talk, let's fight!" Mark used his Aura tome and created a gigantic explosion in the middle of the bandit horde. The bandits charged him only to have another light filled explosion take out 5 of the at once. Those that did get to him were being badly cut down by the Gray Blade. They couldn't even touch him. When a good twenty managed to get away and about five of them were lying injured on the snow.

"Enough, get out of here and don't come back." He told the remaining ones. However, as he turned his back, two of them ambushed him. Mark was able to dodge the blow and slice them with his blade, but unfortunately, another bandit shot an arrow at him, injuring his ribs while another barely managed to hit him with a hand axe. Mark killed all of them with a blast from his Aura tome.

"Ergh, this is a pretty big wound, must get help…"

Mark headed south towards Sacae to get help, after about three hours, he collapsed under the grassy plains of Sacae.

**Author's Note:** The first chapter of my first fanfic! Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1: The Last of the Lorca

Well here's another chapter, I hope you like it…

**Despair Spreader:** Understand that my tactician IS the main character of this story, but he will not be "hogging the limelight". I will take what you say into consideration in future writings though so thank you for your review. Oh yeah, Mark does have low defense, he took a hand axe and an arrow shot which isn't enough to kill him.

**Someone out there: **Hmm… nice name. But thanks for reading this always!

**Aweirdguy:** Thanks for reviewing and please update your own story soon, it really is a good beginning to a FE fanfic! And your tactician is pretty neat as well. Plus, the other chapter was just a prologue so it was shorter than usual. I promise to make future chapters longer.

Wallace: Flame me all you want, I'm fireproof! Mwhahaha!

Uhh, sure… well here's a disclaimer…

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 1:**

**The Last of the Lorca**

Mark awoke in what seemed to be a Sacaean nomad's tent. It was cheap, easy to move, and yet very durable against nature's elements. He quick deduced that he was in Sacae and whoever was living here was living alone since there was almost nothing except a bit of food, a few blankets, medical supplies, and a blunt iron sword. His own Gray Blade, Aura tome, and Fenrir tome were next to them. That's when he noticed a beautiful girl with green hair, smooth skin, and blue eyes were sitting there eating.

'She must only be part Sacaean since not many of them have blue eyes,' Mark thought to himself. The girl soon noticed that the man's eyes were open and looking at her. She had to say something.

"Hello, I'm Lyn of the Lorca tribe, I found you unconscious on the plains yesterday, uhh, if you're hungry, here's some soup I just cooked, and by the way, here are your weapons and materials that I found with you on the plains," she said nervously. She hadn't spoken to anyone in quite a few months. She couldn't quite figure where this stranger came from. His body build was a lot like that of a sword-user and she did find him while hunting near the border of Ilia. Yet he had two magic tomes with him, Lyn wasn't knowledgeable about magic, but she can tell one of them was a light magic tome while the other was a dark magic tome. That was odd since she had never heard of someone with the ability to use both magic and weapons at such a young age. She decided to go with Etrurian, though he had black hair.

"Thank you, Lyn. My name is Mark and I am a traveler, but if you were to ask for my home, I would say Etruria, though I have fallen in love with the Ilian mountains." Mark replied. He had been traveling for a few years now and had been in Etruria, Ilia, Sacae, and even Bern twice on business with his father. His father… memories were beginning to flood back to him…

"_Now son, today Mage General Pent and his wife Louise has asked me to go accompany them to Bern with a few other lords to congratulate King Desmond of Bern for the new birth of Princess Guinevere, and I plan to take you with me for sightseeing… I wonder how Louise's sister Hellene, now Queen of Bern will react to this, the king did not have this child with her…and she has always been the jealous type…"_

Mark's thoughts were interrupted as Lyn said something about a noise and me staying inside. She came back with wide eyes and yet with a small hatred that Mark did not understand.

"Bandits, they're probably going to assault the nearby villages, I have to protect them! There are about 4 of them… I'm not sure if I can handle them alone, but I won't sit here and do nothing!" Mark could tell that this was something personal and decided that he was going to help her.

"Listen Lyn, I'm coming with you, this is the least I can do to repay you for your kindness," Mark said.

"But can you fight in your current state. I know you can fight by looking at your magic tome and sword, but you should rest if you're still hurt," Lyn looked as if she really wanted the help but was against her morals. 'Must be Sacaean pride,' thought Mark.

"I am still injured, but I can still do two things, guide you as a tactician, and use my magic to aid you if necessary. Actually, I think I'm already in a good enough state to use a sword, but I won't risk it if possible, and besides, I have faced much more than 4 bandits before, this will be a piece of cake," Mark reasoned.

The two left the nomadic tent to go face the bandits. The assumed leader of this gang was at another Sacaean structure called ger, or so Lyn explained to me.

"Alright, listen up, one of the bandits just spotted us and is heading our way, he's pretty stupid to be blindly charging towards us, I'll easily take him out with magic. Now I want you to take the two bandits that look like they are going to head east towards the other ger. Meet me at where the leader is and together, we'll take him down!" Lyn headed towards the bandits up north and Mark took the running fool.

"Hmph, you think you got what it takes to face one like me? Well, take this!" Mark used his Fenrir magic tome that sent lots of dark fireballs at the bandit and completely destroyed him with a gigantic explosion that sent shockwaves throughout the plains. He went up to the ger and found Lyn already facing the bandit even though she already a few bruises on her legs and left arm. 'Ahh, very unwise and foolish, she'll never survive bandit attacks if she goes at them with pure strength, especially when she doesn't have too much of it'. Mark pulled her back as she was about to be decapitated by an axe blow from the bandit.

"Here, take this vulnerary that you left inside the tent due to your rash actions and heal yourself while I take on this buffoon." The bandit did not take well to being called a buffoon.

"What, buffoon? I'm Batta the Beast, and I'm taking you down!" he roared. But while he was talking, Mark took out the Aura tome and blasted the area in front of him to hurt the bandit since if he struck any nearer to Batta, it would have destroyed the ger as well. Then he took out the Grey Blade and sliced the "Beast" in half.

During the next day, when got up again, he found Lyn staring at him. The previous day's events took out a lot in him.

"You really showed me how strong you are yesterday…I was thinking, and I wonder if you would teach me more on how to fight…" Lyn said. Mark wasn't too happy to hear that, he liked to travel and do things alone.

"I've noticed that you live alone, and the fact that you haven't talked to someone in months makes me wonder where you're parents are. Especially since you only seem to be 16 or 17." Mark knew he hit a nerve when he saw Lyn's face darken slightly.

"My parents died during a bandit raid, they poisoned our food, then killed us when we were utterly defenseless… I was one of the only survivors. The Taliver were the ones who did it, and today showed me that in order to get revenge, I must become stronger! So please! Teach me how to be strong like you!" Lyn was in tears by now, so Mark embraced her and comforted her. He was feeling two things now, pity, and guilt. The Taliver were the bandits that he nearly completely slaughtered only two and a half days ago. He now felt he should not have left any survivors.

When Mark told Lyn this, she was amazed and shocked. Amazed that he managed to defeat 100 of these bandits, and shocked for the same reason.

"Who...who are you?" she asked. Lyn was now seeing Mark in a whole new light, and even stronger than she once thought.

"I am known as The Battle Wizard by many, but I do not wish to talk about it at the moment. Not now. I will let you travel with me." Mark said.

"Really! Thank you, I feel so much better now! We shall travel across Sacae, honing our skills as master warrior, and his peerless student!" she said enthusiastically. But the master warrior's thoughts were not there anymore. He was thinking about the family he once had.

**Author's Note:**

Yeah, I know, kinda cheesy huh. Well tell me what you think and please review so I can make it better. I'm at a crossroad with pairings at the moment so please give me some ideas and I'll go with the popular ones. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 2: Lyn's Secret

Here's the next part of the fic. I will do my best to make the tactician weaker now. But please review for I truly wish to see what you think of this story and how I need to fix it.

**Aweirdguy:** Thanks for the review. I really think you should update and continue your story. I will continue this fic no matter what happens. Although I still want reader's opinions. I think people aren't reviewing your story because they don't see your story on there, so you need to update.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

**The Battle Wizard: Chap 2**

**Lyn's Secret**

It was three days since Mark and Lyn had departed for Bulgar, the biggest city in Sacae and a very important place for trade, and now they had finally arrived. But Mark was worried. Since their departure, his Gray Blade was acting very strangely, many times glowing for no reason. This happened quite a few times before, and it always meant that his power was waning. His magical powers highly depended on the magic of the Gray Blade, which is why it was so valuable, the reason being it was by itself, a very powerful blade. Without the Blade's power, his magical abilities were cut in half, meaning he wouldn't be able to use Aura or Fenrir without seriously injuring himself. The last time this happened, it lasted 2 months, and Mark never knew why other than it happens at least once a year.

"Lyn, I need to tell you something, I won't be able to use any strong magic for a few months, so I'll need to buy a few weaker magic tomes while you get your supplies, alright?" he told Lyn.

"Won't be able to….. Why not, is something wrong?" Lyn asked puzzled. Every time Lyn gets an answer to a question she had about Mark, she gets another question with it.

"I'd rather no talk about it, I will give you answers someday, but I don't know you well enough to tell you at the moment, meet me here in an hour." With that, he left to get the things he needed for the journey ahead. The journey ahead… They planned yesterday that they were going to attempt finding the rest of the Taliver near the Ilian border where they may attempt to escape again. But now as he walked through the city streets, looking at the merchants from all over the world, he found out that it was just like any big city on the continent. Somehow, he had not expected it to be so crowded. Once more he thought of home.

_Mark had just come home with his father from his trip to Bern to find a burning mansion. His father quickly attacked the men who did this. He quickly took them out with the help of Lord Pent. But in the end, all they found of their home were smoldering picks of wood, and burned rugs on the floor. They even stole the family treasure: the Gray Blade. Yet miraculously, one valuable item still remained: his mother's Luce tome. An extremely powerful light magic tome that not even Mark ever dared to use. Afterwards, Mark's father died of illness, and he learned who did this to his family. The assailants were members of a rebel/bandit group that were targeting Etruria and Ilia in constant guerilla warfare. After giving his mother's Luce tome, his father's Excaliber tome, and his own creation, the Gespenst tome, to Pent for safekeeping, he left with a small army of 500 soldiers that once belonged to his father, and marched to crush the rebels and retrieve the Gray Blade…_

Mark stopped daydreaming, for he knew he had to get items for the trip and return within an hour. First he got a lightning tome, then medical supplies like vulneraries since his body still hurt and after facing the bandits last time, he figured that no one could be too cautious. After more sightseeing, he returned to see how Lyn was doing.

After Mark left, Lyn started walking along the road thinking about her parents. 'I will get revenge!' she thought to herself. This was only the second time she went to Bulger. The last time was when her mother needed to get supplies for weaving. First, she went to get a new iron sword, then for vulneraries, and finally for some cloth and thread in case Mark or she needed new clothes. As she progressed to the meeting area, someone called out to her rather annoyingly.

"O beauteous one! Would favor me with your name, or better yet your company?" the stranger said. The stranger had brown hair, green armor, tan pants, and the type of face that you simply want to punch.

"Who are you and where do you come from to speak so freely to a stranger?" Lyn was already angry and had a hard time controlling that anger.

"Ah! I hail from the land of Lycia, where great men of brave men reside!"

"Hmph! Don't you mean callous oafs with the brain the size of a peanut?" she said quite forcefully. 'Mark had better arrive soon or I may lose my patience and whack this fool on the head!' Lyn thought to herself.

"Ah… You are beautiful even when you are cruel…" he mused on. He just didn't know when to stop. When Mark finally did arrive, Lyn grabbed him and dragged him across the road by his sleeve. By the time they got to the end of their road, Lyn was so distracted, that she ran into another knight, this time with his horse.

"Well excuse me! But your horse is blocking the road! Care to move?" Lyn looked like she was going to snap any moment. Mark was edging away from her just in case.

"Ah, I'm sorry miss, I will move my horse immediately…" the red-armored said kindly.

"Well at least there are some nice people in Lycia." Lyn mused. Mark was just starting to relax and move along when a certain green-armored knight said something that did make Lyn snap.

"Hey Kent! No fair! I saw her first!" he said behind us. Lyn did a 180 degree turn kicked him in the groin, and elbowed his neck when he was bent over. Then she left as if nothing happened. Some women in the crowd now watching them applauded her actions. Mark ran to catch up with her. That was a side to her that he never saw before.

"Sain, you lout!" Kent said to his companion when the two strangers were gone.

"What? I thought you were hitting on her or something…" Sain said pathetically.

"I'M NOT YOU!" He punched his companion's face when he got up, knocking him back down. "I think she maybe our mission," he said to himself while Sain was on the floor groaning.

"Wait, Lyn, I think we're being followed," Mark said while analyzing the ground area around them.

"Are they the knights from Lycia? No, it appears that these men want blood."

"These trees may work to our advantage or theirs depending how we use them. Hurry, hide in the shadow over there." They hid as their stalkers approached. As they passed them, they went out of hiding and asked them who they were.

"Who are you to follow us?" Lyn asked boldly. Mark saw that there were about 8 of them armed with axes.

"Lyndis, right? Well, we've been hired to take you out. Ah, such a waste of beauty… the things I would do for money…" the bandit leader told them.

"Wait what did you call me?" Lyn asked shocked. But before they could answer, the two knights from the city came out and joined her.

"Cowards! Every one of you!" Sain said. This time he seemed to have bruises on his face as well as neck. "Where's your honor, facing a lone girl and a boy!" Mark was beginning to get angry himself. 'Boy?' he thought to himself. After he was done with these bandits, he was going to give this man a piece of his mind. He also saw the other knight riding up to them.

"Hello again, miss. My name is Kent, and that is my companion Sain, please allow us to aid you in this battle," He said with a bow.

"Very well, Mark will lead us in this battle as our tactician, agreed?" Lyn told the knights.

"Agreed." They both said. "Mark! Let me show my lady how powerful I am! I'll attack first!" Without Mark's consent, he attacked using a lance, missing terribly, and was hit by an axe blow. His friend had to bail him out by attacking with his sword.

"Where's your sword, Sain?" Kent asked him as if he already knew the answer.

"Well a lance does seem a lot nobler than a sword doesn't it?" Sain quailed under Kent's glance. "Oh alright, the truth is I forgot to buy a sword at Bulgar." Kent handed him an iron sword and apologized to Mark.

"It's alright, now lets try this again! Sain, attack using your sword and cut down the bandit to the south. Kent, finish off that other bandit right next to you. And Lyn, go up north and hide behind those trees and attack any enemies that come near you." Mark ordered. He sighed, watching Sain miss another bandit even when using his sword. He took out his Lightning tome and hit the bandit Sain was supposed to take down so he wouldn't be able to counter-attack and injure Sain even worse. Then Kent came, fresh from taking down his target, and finished off the bandit. Mark then went off to find three bandits attacking Lyn. They couldn't touch her but she had trouble hurting them as well. Mark used his lightning knocking down one of them and blinding the other two, allowing Lyn to cut them down.

"Thanks Mark! Now let's go finish the others!" Amazingly, Sain had actually managed to take another bandit down, and Kent was in the process of killing another. All that was left was their leader. Lyn charged first, cutting the bandit across the ribs and dodging the counter. Mark hit him with lighting, and Sain finished him of with his sword.

"Alright, now that's finished, tell me who you are and what your doing," Lyn told the knights.

"As you wish, Lady. We are knights from the Caelin region of Lycia, here to find our Lord Hausen's granddaughter Lyndis. And from the portraits I've seen in Caelin of Lord Hausen's mother, Lady Madelin, I have reason to believe that you are Lyn. You should have seen the look on his face when he found out he had a granddaughter." Kent explained.

"Lyndis… now that's a name no one has called me in months. But wait! That bandit also called me Lyndis!" Lyn said.

"Hmm… must be Lundgren, your grand-uncle. He sees you as an object in his path to the throne of Caelin. Whether you want the throne or not, he will do his best to hunt you down and kill you so once Lord Hausen passes away, he'll be the new ruler of Caelin." Sain said.

"No, I won't let that happen, I don't want the throne, but…" Lyn was caught up in her own thoughts. 'What about Mark, would he continue to travel with me after hearing of the danger posed by this new dilemma?' "Mark, may I speak to you privately for a while?"

"Of course," though Mark had already long guessed what she was going to say.

"Mark, this poses new problems and dangers so I would understand if you no longer wish to travel with me, but I would appreciate it if you would." Saying this very quickly, Mark could see that if he said no, Lyn would be very upset.

"Lyn, I will you and lend my strength to you if you wish, but understand this: I have never truly bowed down to anyone in my life, and I won't start now. If that's going to be a problem…" The rest was understood. 'This could be a pleasant journey, though I will have to postpone my journey to Valor, I doubt anyone would want to sail there anyways…..'

"No, no. It won't be a problem. I would actually prefer it that no one gives me formalities!" And like that, the people left for Caelin, but not before…

"Hey Sain, I got to tell you something," Mark told him.

"Yeah is something wrong?"

Mark punched Sain across the face.

"Yes, never call me a BOY!"

**Author's Note:** I'm serious now people, I need some reviews from more than one person. Flames, suggestions, and pairings would be nice now. (And please read and review the latest story written by aweirdguy, it's not bad!) And I promise future chapters will have a better story. But first you must review and tell me what I'm doing wrong!


	4. Chapter 3: The Two Blades

I'm so sad… Only one review… I need help people. If you think this story sucks at least tell me so I may revise it, and if it's good, please tell me also so that I may keep it that way. I accept flames, criticisms, and praises all the same, just REVIEW! This fanfic may seem like it lacks an original plot, but I assure you, in the future, maybe in Eliwood's story, it will be much more exciting and different.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.**

**The Battle Wizard Chap 3:**

**The Two Blades**

It was a lonely day for Mark. After the last bandit encounter, things were getting dull. One reason was because they had been heading in a direction opposite of Caelin for two days, and the other was because things were SO boring. Before he met Lyn, and before his Gray Blade started to flash, he always loved to just walk into a bandit's camp and tease them. When they got angry and attacked him, he just used his aura tome and killed them all with a ball of glowing, shining, fire. Now in his weakened form, he felt so weak. He looked at his sword and thought he saw a small red streak of electricity go through the gray blade that was glowing white from time to time. As he went and examined the sword closer, he found there was nothing.

'Must be a trick of light,' Mark thought. Yet there was one other time this happened before…..

_On that day, Mark set off with a small brigade of 500 men to crush the 2000 rebels that had burned down the home he had. As he met the rebel troops, he started by having his knights out in front, shielding the rest of his men from the arrows and shooting the rebels with arrows of their own. After the rebels started charging, he had his mages hit them with Bolting tomes and monks with Purge. Mark then had the cavaliers charge armed with longswords, cutting down enemy infantry. The enemy started to retreat, and Mark was on the offensive. After another 3 similar battles with similar results, the enemy was getting frustrated. They took villagers and held them as hostages and asked Mark to retreat or they would slaughter them. But Mark was beside himself, instead of giving in, he ordered his archers to shoot them first so they wouldn't be distractions in the next battle._

_The last battle soon took place and Mark breached the rebel castle's gates. His superior troops destroyed the enemy. All that was left was their leader and his assistant._

_Mark wanted to face them alone; he wanted revenge so much, that he felt like his was going to explode. As he approached the throne, the leader's assistant ambushed him, but easily took him out using a Light Brand. Then he saw the Gray Blade and unsheathed it. He immediately felt his magical strength increase critically. Then he saw the man behind all of this, the rebel leader, Harold. Mark felt great fury flowing from his veins to the Grey Blade as if it were transforming his anger into energy. _

"_Please! Let me go! We have plenty of treasure in our troves, take them all if you'd like! Look! I have a son; he's only 5 years old! Come here Narshen!" Harold called. A blond boy came out looking scared and on the verge of tears. As the boy came out, he came up to Mark and went down to his knees. Mark was just starting to feel some pity until the boy took out a dagger and stabbed him with it. Mark kicked the boy so hard, he flew out of the room. The father then took out his own Runesword and tried to hit him with it's dark magic but it missed. That was when the Gray Blade gave a red stream of electricity that seemed to match Mark's anger. It shocked and destroyed the ground and the Runesword with it and pushed back the man against a pillar, knocking him out. After that shockwave, Mark felt very weak and almost fainted. He ran and got the men to accost Harold. Mark's mind then took another turn before he lost all control of his body and ran into the nearby forest, soon he ran out of energy since he had lost a lot of blood from his dagger wound. _

_He awoke to find a lavender-haired girl watching over him. She seemed to be very shy and quiet. Her hair was also so long, that it even touched the floor while she was sitting in her chair. From the staves on the table, Mark managed to perceive that she had healed his wounds._

"_Thank you lady, may I ask your name?" Mark inquired, only half conscious._

"_...Sophia, I'm sorry, but... I'm not very good at healing..." she replied._

"_Th…Thank you, Sophia." Mark managed to get out before losing consciousness again._

"We're here everybody!" Lyn shouted. Mark could see some sort of shrine in the background. Sain was falling asleep on his horse before he heard Lyn's shout and fell off of it.

"Are we headed toward the shrine Lady Lyndis," questioned Kent, he had been dutiful and quiet the whole journey.

"Yes, all Sacaean nomads pray to the Mani Katti shrine before they take leave on any long journey," Lyn explained.

"Ah! How quaint!" Sain exclaimed. He was now back to attention but didn't notice the drool on his armor.

"Yes, it is good to know that even in our continent, there are still people paying attention to the old customs," remarked Kent. They approached the shrine until a teenage woman with brown hair that reached to her shoulder approached them seeming very panicky. She tripped when she got to them.

"May we help you, miss," asked Kent.

"Yes, how may we help you, beautiful maiden," Sain asked while helping her up to her feet.

"Please, bandits are raiding the altar, they plan on stealing the Mani Katti!" the woman said. She was so nervous that she did not notice the strange look Mark was giving her, for Mark recognized her from Ilia.

"We've got to stop them! Mark, we need a plan!" Lyn said. At the mention of that name, the brown haired woman looked up and saw the man she was referring to and recognized him from Ilia.

'The Battle Wizard! How awkward it is for him to see me trip and lose my nerve like that…' she thought to herself. She last saw him in Ilia one year ago.

"Very well, come, first we must get this girl to safety. In the meantime, we shall question the villagers. Split up!" Mark ordered. Sain and Kent hurried to question the villagers. Lyn continued to go east to make sure the bandits are kept busy as more information was gathered. That left Mark alone with the girl.

"Mark…nice to see you again. But what are you doing here?" she asked.

"It's good to see you to May, but this is not the time. Go to a nearby inn and I will come for you later, alright?" Mark left to join Lyn. When he got to Lyn, she, Sain, and Kent were fending off a few bandits that were using the hills to their advantage while attacking them. Mark used Lightning and got them out of their hiding place so that Sain and Kent could pierce them with their lances.

"Mark! We found out that there is a weak part of the wall that can be broken with a bit of force, it should be located right there!" Sain reported.

"Hmm. Good job Sain," then Mark focused on the part of the wall that was rumored to be weaker that the other. He cast Lightning on that section of the wall and broke it into pieces. With that, Sain and Kent charged in at their full speed plowing any enemy troops that dared step in their way. While the lackey bandits were being taken care of, Lyn went and faced the leader of the group.

"How dare you stand in my way! I am Glass; even the gods fear my name. You can't stop me!" His words were cut short as Lyn sliced him across the waist, dodged the counter-attack, and finished him off with a blow to the neck.

"Excuse me, but are you the ones that stopped those men from desecrating our sacred temple?" the priest of the altar asked.

"Lyn, I will take my leave, meet me at the village nearby, I will checkup on that girl," and so Mark left Lyn talking to the priest.

"Yes, my name is Lyn, and these men are Sain and Kent."

"Ah… really, as a thank you, I will allow you to touch the Mani Katti while making your prayer." The priest said.

"Really! Thank you, we are grateful!" Then Lyn stepped up to the altar and touched the Mani Katti. But when she did, it started to glow.

"What's happening?" she pulled her hand away, in the meantime, actually managing to draw the sword from the altar. Something that was said never to be able to happen until it's rightful owner came.

"Hmm, it appears that you are the rightful owner of the Mani Katti," the priest confirmed. The whole room was lit with the Mani Katti's light. Lyn was in awe.

Meanwhile, Mark had made it back to the village and went searching for May. When he got to the inn though, he found that she had disappeared, so he went searching for her. And found her in an alley, cornered by a couple of men that were slowly approaching her with grins on their faces.

"Mark, help!" she cried. The men turned towards him.

"What are you going to do, leave us alone with the girl or get slaughtered," threatened the rouges. Poor men, Mark wasn't himself at that moment. He drew the Grey Blade, but instead of seeing grey, it was a scary crimson red with streaks of gray electricity running through it. The red was the same color of Mark's eyes.

"Come here, May," Mark ordered. The two men were so mesmerized by Mark that they simply let her. They also found that they couldn't move. Mark then unleashed the power he was charging in his blade with an inhuman roar. The shockwave was the color of the blade and it destroyed everything in the alley, the men didn't have a chance.

He led May back to the inn so she could settle down.

"Thank you, Mark. That was the second time you've saved me, thank you. But how did you do that, it seemed almost as if you weren't human or something." she asked, concerned.

"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you now, but I promise I will when I learn more about it… I'm sorry if I scared you, but please don't tell Lyn or the others about this until I learn more, thank you. Now what were you doing out of the inn." Mark asked. He was very tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep right there. But he decided to listen to May's story first.

"Well, the only magic I can use, as you know, is staves, and I thought I should buy a few since I left all of mine at the altar. So I left and those two rogues saw me and… well chased me across town. I tried to lose them, but I accidentally ran into an alley and… was cornered. Thankfully, you came and stopped them from…" by the end of that, she was silently crying so Mark put an arm around her. Then all of a sudden, she grabbed him and started kissing him, which was also when Lyn, Kent, and Sain came in through the door. Mark and May immediately broke apart.

"Whoa, that's not fair! You just met her and you're already making out?" Sain said. The couple was blushing like cherries.

"That's not true! I… I've known her for years," Mark stuttered, "When I was working as a mercenary in Ilia. She was our guild's healer, a good one at that." May blushed again at that.

"Mark, you were a mercenary?" Lyn asked. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at May, who seemed to appear out of nowhere and just took Mark away from her.

"Yes, how else would I be hired to take out those Taliver bandits, enough of that, let's go and get May a Heal staff and head towards Caelin," Mark pointed out. Lyn was slightly angry, Mark was so focused on May, he hadn't even noticed her new sword.

"Mark, haven't you noticed my new sword?" Lyn showed him the Mani Katti. But all of a sudden she saw that Mark's eyes were slowly turning red as he eyed her sword.

"ROARRRR!" Mark yelled and drew the Grey Blade that was crimson.

**Author's Note:** My first cliffhanger! I hope you like it. Once again, please review. I accept flames, constructive criticisms, and anything else, so please just take one minute, and REVIEW! And yes, Narshen and Sophia are the same ones from Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals!


	5. Chapter 3x: A Meeting of Swords

Thanks for all of your reviews! That includes the flames! Hopefully, my writing will be better with time. Until then, I hope you continue to point out the wrongs in my writing until it's perfect, thank you. As for a Mark x Lyn pairing, I have been asking for your opinions for quite a while, and if that's what you want, then that's what you'll get.

**Sam:** I consider Sain and Serra to be a source of comical relief. In my opinion, he IS a straight out moron. But I never said he wasn't honorable, because he is. Morons can be honorable too, you know.

**Gamer:** At least you enjoyed my depiction of Sain! Thank you for reviewing, hope you do it again!

**KiraYamato1: **Thank you for reading and reviewing my fanfic! I suck at suspense, but I'll do my best in this and future chapters to keep you on the edge of your seat!

**Aweirdguy: **Can't thank you enough for reviewing every chapter of this story so far!

**DISCLAIMER: **I really hate putting this up every time… but I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 3x:**

**A Meeting of Swords**

"M… Mark?" Lyn was very scared at the moment; she had seen him angry before, but never with red eyes. He was also emitting a strange grey aura tinged with slight red. And why was his sword crimson? Wasn't it called the "Grey" Blade? She also noticed her own Mani Katti glowing with a warm, white, aura as if in response to the Grey Blade.

"The M-Mani Ka-Katti…" growled Mark. "It's power…" He struck at Lyn. In reaction, she drew the Mani Katti and the two swords collided with an explosion that sent both parties flying. Lyn knew that she didn't want any civilians to get hurt, that included Sain, Kent, and May. She went downstairs and asked everyone to leave immediately. Almost immediately after the last person left, Mark recovered and struck at Lyn again.

"Mark! I don't want to hurt you, why are you doing this?" but she knew it was a bluff, she couldn't beat Mark in a swordfight, at least in a fair one. Mark just growled in reply. As Lyn and Mark exchanged blows, Kent, Sain, and May were watching horrified. Sain was about to enter and help Lyn, but Kent was wiser.

"This is between the two blades, if any of us were to enter, we would get cut down easily," Kent reasoned. The truth was, as a knight of Caelin, he also wanted to help his liege lord's daughter. It took him every once of his resolve to prevent himself from entering. Lyn was in bad condition, it was obvious that if this lasted any longer, Lyn would be slaughtered, so Lyn kicked a table against Mark and as Mark was distracted, threw sand and blinded him. Lyn was just about to knock him out with her pommel when Mark pointed the tip of his blade at Lyn and used his Lightning tome. It's power was amplified by the Grey Blade's power. Knowing what was going to happen, Kent and Sain threw their swords at the tome, cutting it in half. But it wasn't enough to stop the lightning as it made contact with Lyn, sending her flying with the Mani Katti falling out of her hand.

"My lady!" Kent called and rushed forward with Sain. After only about ten seconds of blows being exchanged, Mark managed to trip Kent and knock Sain out. When all hope seemed lost, the Mani Katti started glowing again, this time illuminating the whole room with a pure white light. The light hurt Mark terribly. He dropped his sword and collapsed, twitching on the floor. His eyes got it's original brown color again and his sword's blade turned back to it's grey color, glowing white now from time to time. Mark's power was again weakened. He felt that too as he got up.

"Lyn…" he quickly rushed to her side, she was knocked out good from the enhanced lightning attack. Sain was still on the ground and Kent was only groaning. A crowd had long gathered and the innkeeper was now hiding behind a counter.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance, I'll pay for any damage tomorrow," he told the crowd and the innkeeper. "May, go get a Heal tome and come back, I'll be waiting upstairs." May went to get one while Mark carried Lyn and the two knights back to the room. May returned soon.

"Mark, I got the Heal tome, should I heal them now?" May asked.

"Yes, look, I'm going to leave for a little bit, I must do something right now, I will be back." Mark said. But as he approached the door, May called him back.

"Do you promise you'll return?" May asked anxiously.

"Yes, I promise. But… aren't… you afraid, that maybe I'll go berserk again and kill you next time?" Mark asked May. May shook her head.

"I know you'll be able to fight it. It's not like you to give up on anything, and besides… I…" she started to blush and could not look Mark in the face anymore. Mark knew what she was going to say.

"Stop. I don't know if I'll ever be able to return your feelings and I don't want you to get hurt." Mark left it at that and walked out the door, his blade still glowing white. He returned to see Sain and Kent awake but Lyn still unconscious. As soon as they saw him approach they both drew their swords.

"Peace. My eyes are normal and my sword is grey once more. I have discovered more information on the Grey Blade and I think I may know what is causing these… berserk spells. I will share it as soon as Lyn wakes up." The knights still had a small look of distrust on their faces but still put their weapons down. Lyn started to stir.

"Mark…" was the first thing she said as she got up. Mark embraced her.

"I'm glad to see that you're doing better. You had me worried there, but I knew you would bounce back being Lyn." Lyn returned Mark's embrace to May's dismay.

"Tell me what happened after I fell unconscious, how did you stop your own rampage?" Lyn asked, and so Mark explained.

"Wow, but how did the Mani Katti manage to stop you? I'm afraid I really don't understand…" Lyn asked puzzled.

"After I carried you back to your room, I left towards the sword's altar to think about what happened in the past and why my sword does what it does and here's my conclusion. This sword is what mainly fuels my energy, without it, I still have my own personal skill and magical abilities, but with it, my power is increased by five times. The blade is grey when it's like that. But if I use it too often or use too much of it's power, it starts glowing white and must recharge. That is what I know for sure."

"Then what about when it turns red? Why does it do that?" Sain asked.

"What I'm about to say is mainly guesswork and speculation. The blade was originally created 1000 years ago by none other than Bramimond, one of the legendary eight generals, to help slay the dragons. But soon decided against it since it was too imbused with dark magic to be wielded by a mortal being. After the war, the druid gave it to Elimine and she sealed the dark magic away. I believe that this magic can still be used when it's wielder is experiencing a large amount of hate, grief, or anxiety. It is also attracted to other weapons of great power, not unlike the Mani Katti, but it will stop if it achieves victory against it or if it suffers from defeat. In the red form, the wielder also becomes 5 times stronger, difference is, it takes away all self-control and makes you do things that you would normally try and hide."

"…So you wanted to attack me?..." Lyn asked. She looked hurt.

"What? No! The only exception is when it meets a rival weapon! I would never hurt you." Mark said the last sentence with such affection that everyone was slightly surprised. Lyn had never heard him speak in such a manner before. Mark, noticing his error, blushed, as did Lyn.

"So that means you may go berserk and start attacking us again if you become angry with us or if we get another powerful weapon?" Kent said with an antagonistic tone. He was worried about his lady's security.

"I will not lie to you. There is that possibility." All along, Mark knew that Kent would be the first to object.

"In that case, Lady Lyndis, I must ask that we leave without Mark. He is a threat to the whole mission." May started to object, but Lyn cut her off.

"No. I trust Mark and I know he will be able to control the power that resides in the Grey Blade and I will hear no more of it from you Kent." Then Lyn leaned over and kissed Mark on the cheek. He could hear Sain murmur "Why won't women do that to me?" May on the other hand was quite shocked and thought: 'I've known Mark for a lot longer than you Lyn. I'm not going to let you take him away from me!'

**Author's Note: **Sorry, this may have been a crappy chapter. Still, this was also a side chapter. In this fanfiction, I have decided to make all chapters in the game a real chapter. All side chapters in this fic will be chapters that have content not mentioned at all in the game and ones that I have created. While you may flame any chapter in this fic, you are NOT allowed to flame a side chapter. Constructive criticisms are more than welcome. I hope you will review again, thank you.


	6. Chapter 4: Lyn's Legion

Again, thanks for the reviews. People, you have obviously not read my profile. Look at the message I wrote on it! Enough about the strong tactician thing! I have read about 8 reviews on it and that's enough. I have decided on a different approach with Mark. You will see what I mean in the future.

**General Subwoofer** Lol! But seriously, have you ever played FE 4? There is a class called Mage Knight (NOT the one in FE 8!), they are the only class in Fire Emblem to be able to use swords and magic. And what do you mean 500 against 20! You missed a few zeros. As for Mark's flaws… I'm working on it. Thanks for your review, though!

**The Gamer:** If I do not receive 10 reviews telling me otherwise, I will go through all chapters in FE 7. All side quests in FE 7 will also be added, but they will be considered "regular" chapters. All side quests in this fanfic will be chapters that I have created myself so it will be more original. By the end of this fanfic, there may be more than 50 chapters! This is my first fanfic so with experience from Lyn's story, Eliwood's story will hopefully be much better!

**Aweirdguy:** Thank you for reviewing again.

**Maria of…:** I will work on it, thank you. Please also read my reply to General Subwoofer's review.

**ScionofDestiny: **Thank you for your review! I will take everything everyone says into consideration in all future writings.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 4:**

**Lyn's Legion**

As Mark and the group continued on their journey, they soon saw ruins of what seemed to be a burnt down village, so they started to look around. The place was a complete mess and everything was broken down and hacked apart. Mark was reminded of his own mansion that was burnt down three years ago. Mark hadn't stopped training since. 'I will be a god someday and no one will push me around again,' he thought then. And now that was what he was, a god. He had yet to meet a rival when he was at his full strength. And yet…

"_You will meet one that rivals… your strength… in the near… future…" Sophia told Mark after he was almost fully healed. He found that Sophia was quite shy and had a mysterious aura about her. His Grey Blade also seemed to react oddly when he was around her._

"_How do you know this? Who can rival my blade's power? Will he pose a threat to me, or will he be my ally?" Sophia looked as she always did: as if she didn't have emotions. She looked human and yet… she didn't feel like a human._

"_I am a seer… the seer of my village. This is the first time I've ever wandered out of it before. You are… the first human I've seen outside my village," she mused. "As for your rival… he… will be dark… he will be an enemy…I can tell you no more…"_

"_Wait, you say human… I've wanted to ask you this ever since I first saw you. If I offend you, I'm sorry, but are you human?" Mark asked._

"…_No… please ask me no more…" Sophia walked out the door quietly._

'_Blast!' Mark thought to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. But then his mind wandered elsewhere. What did she mean by "No"? What else could she be? To Mark, she was an angel, but that was only a figure of speech. What could she possibly be? Wait… the only other thing I can think of is a… But that's impossible... Mark shook the thought out of his head and walked out to apologize to her. He didn't want _her_ of all people to be angry at him._

Now that he thought of it, maybe that's why he was attracted to Lyn. She, like, Sophia, had rescued him when he was down… but then again, that was the only thing she had similar to her. 'Grr… I must get that out of my head! Love is a weakness that I will not fall victim too! I am a GOD!'

"What a mess? Doesn't the marquess here take care of anything?" Sain asked clearly horrified by the destruction seen. For at Caelin, everything was always peaceful and any bandit attacks were quickly taken care of by the knights.

"No marquess holds control in these territories. Over here, you survive only if you're strong. Something I will be in time. I will crush the Talivers' weapons beneath me!" Lyn said with determination and scorn.

"I will always be here if you need me," Kent replied. Like Sain, he was also unaccustomed to seeing such destruction. No amount of knight training can prepare you for it.

"Same here!" Sain added with determination.

"Thanks guys…" Lyn said obviously touched.

"Don't forget about me." Mark had left survivors the last time he met the Taliver. But he won't the next time.

"Me too." May was disgusted at how human nature could be so cruel. When she fulfilled her dream of being a bishop, she was going to do her best to rid the land of evils only man can create.

"You too Mark? Thank you, all of you…" Lyn said. May was wondering whether Lyn had even heard her when a woman's scream was heard. "What? Could it be…?" With that, she jumped on Sain's horse and said "Move it!"

"You don't need to tell me twice! There are beautiful maidens to be saved!" Lyn and Sain were off with Kent, May, and Mark following close behind. There were two angry bandits surrounding a scared-looking lavender haired girl with what seemed to be a Pegasus behind her. 'Never thought I'd see one anytime near now,' thought Mark. May's thoughts were the same. She was Ilian born and was glad to see something that resembled the home she hadn't been to for a year now.

"Florina! Is that you?" Lyn shouted as soon as she got there. The girl looked up as Lyn got down from Sain's horse.

"Lyn!" Florina said, surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Florina, what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be back in Ilia training?"

"I...I heard of what happened to the Lorca tribe and so I left looking for you…"

"You came searching for me? How brave of you! So tell me, what are these men doing here? What do they want?"

"This women knocked my partner and me over here as she landed! Now she's going to pay with her Pegasus!" the leader of the group said venomously.

"Florina, did you apologize to the men?" Lyn asked.

"Ye… yes, I said sorry over and over again, but they wouldn't listen," Florina looked as if she was on the verge of tears again.

"Look, she already said sorry, and you don't seem too injured yourself. Can't we just let this go?" Lyn asked addressing the men. Instead, the men took out there axes and retreated, calling out to other people near by.

"Either we get the Pegasus or you die. Simple. Now come out boys! Get the Pegasus!" As the man said this, about 6 others came out and joined him, using the walls as shields.

"Mark! We need to defeat these men and protect Florina!" Lyn told Mark.

"Lyn, let me fight as well!" she said at first, then saw Mark. "Who is that?" she said warily.

"Oh, this is Mark. He's our strategist and my teacher," Lyn explained and also introduced the other members of the party.

"Ok, come on! First, Florina, go north and tell me how many other bandits there are concealed. Second, Lyn, warn the villagers of the attack so that they may conceal themselves. Sain, Kent, defend us until Florina comes back with more information!" The people carried out the orders. Florina came back first.

"Mark, there are about 4 others on the other side of the wall. By the way, the nearby villagers gave me this gold to help defend them from the bandits." Florina informed. She shrieked again. An archer was approaching them but was also accompanied by Lyn.

"Mark! This is Wil from the nearby village. He's an archer and wants to help us defend this place!" Lyn said.

"Very well, Lyn go forward and help Sain and Kent with the bandits. Florina, do you see that wall over there? Fly above it and go tell Wil where enemies are hiding. Wil, shoot at where Florina tells you. If anybody gets injured, come back to May and she will heal you. Now move out!" Mark ordered. Sain was plowing people down using his lance (obviously trying to impress the ladies) while Kent was having more success using his sword. Lyn was furiously cutting down anyone that stood in her way. Mark decided not to use the Grey Blade in order to conserve energy. May just went wherever Mark went.

"Mark? Do you like Lady Lyndis?" May asked hesitantly.

"What! May, this is a battlefield! We have to concentrate! This is no time to discuss love!" Mark exclaimed. But he was still thinking about the question.

"You know no one can touch you! If you wish to ignore the question, very well, but you will have to decide sooner or later!" May exclaimed, then leaving to go heal an injured Sain. 'Decide what?' Mark wondered.

All but the leader of the bandits was left. Lyn confronted him.

"Tell me something. Are you part of the Taliver bandits?" Lyn asked with the Mani Katti drawn.

"Taliver? Me? No way! We are nobler than the Taliver! I belong to the proud Ganelon group!" the leader said proudly.

"Then you may run, I have nothing against you," Lyn told him.

"What? Run! No way, I'm not a coward!" Then the man charged Lyn with his axe. Lyn dodged and struck him with the Mani Katti. All it took was one blow with the powerful blade to kill the bandit.

"Gah… my brothers, the Ganelon bandits… will not stand for this!" he said with his last breath, and then he died.

"Are you all right everyone?" Mark asked, taking special care to see that both Lyn and May were alright. May ran right into his arms embracing him tightly while Lyn watched dismayed.

"I'm alright Mark," Lyn and May both said at the same time. They started to glare at each other. Sain was almost immediately hitting on Florina so she hid behind Lyn.

"Sain, stop! Can't you see that Florina is afraid of men?" Lyn reproached.

"A… Afraid of men? How can this be?" Sain asked shocked. Kent was just in the background embarrassed at his companion's behavior… as usual.

"Is this how he always is?" Wil asked Mark.

"Yep, this is how he is and probably how he always will be," Mark said hopelessly.

"Well… I guess I'm helping you guys now," Wil stated out of nowhere.

"Really, then welcome to Lyndis's Legion, Wil!" Sain said enthusiastically.

"Lyn's Legion? Good name!" Wil said.

"Wow, now they name an army after her…" May said quietly.

"Hmm… what's wrong May?" Mark noticed.

"Do you not understand what's going on?" May said losing her patience. When Mark shook his head, May became even more frustrated and left. Lyn was watching quite pleased.

"Lyndis's Legion… Mark, this is getting weirder everyday." Lyn told him. Mark nodded in agreement, thinking about May.

**Author's Note:** So what do you think? If you find any problems with the chapter, feel free to tell me. Just don't tell me the tactician is too strong! He didn't even fight in this chapter! So give me something new, please! The next update may tae a much longer time as I will be busy organizing my thoughts and starting another fanfiction that doesn't have to do with Fire Emblem. Until then, see ya!


	7. Chapter 5: May Snaps

Thank you, everyone, for holding in your criticisms about my god – I mean… Mark!

**The Gamer:** You know, you come up with the best ideas! I liked yours so much, that I'm going to use it! Thank you for your review!

**Aweirdguy: **Straightforward… I'm sorry, but can you clarify your meaning of that? I really don't understand… Anyways, your fic is just getting better!

**DISCLAIMER:** If I owned Fire Emblem, Mark would be god and Elimine would be worshiping him. As that is not the case, no, I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 5:**

**May Snaps**

Mark and the group had been traveling for about two more days and they were approaching the Lycian border fast. May on the other hand, had been annoyed all the way. During breakfast, she tried making breakfast for Mark, unfortunately, this was only her second time cooking and she burnt the eggs and fish to a crisp. Lyn, who learned cooking as all women from the Lorca tribe did, cooked a fabulous meal with aroma that drew animals of all kind from the forests. One can be sure that this did not please May one bit. When Lyn was burnt, she asked May to heal her, but May said that her stave was malfunctioning and she needed to get herbs from the forest. When they were applied to the wound though, it mysteriously grew worse. Then she said that she 'accidentally' got poison ivy instead and that Lyn had to wait for the effects to wear off. Lyn went to Mark for help but Mark couldn't do anything either so he helped by putting his arms around her and telling her that it was alright. This definitely did not please May either.

"Are you all right beauteous one?" Sain said noticing the sour look on her face. He followed her gaze to Mark and Lyn and immediately knew what the problem was. "Beauteous one! Would you like me to hug you as well?" But when he tried to hug May, she took the rest of the poison ivy and threw it at Sain, causing rashes to appear all over his body. "Oh no! How am I to impress a fair maiden now?" He ran off crying. May felt no remorse.

Soon, after a few more hours of traveling, the sun began to set, and they decided to look for some sort of shelter where they can rest for the night and not get attacked by bandits or wild animals. They soon found an abandoned fortress where Mark decided they should stay. Sain was the only one that complained.

"Oh come now! Surely we may find a better place to stay!" Sain whined.

"Ungrateful one, hold your tongue! We should thank the gods that we aren't sleeping in the wild right now!" Kent chided. "Come Sain. Let's search the fortress for any dangers that may cause Lady Lyndis harm." As they approached the center of the fortress, they saw a shadowy figure inside, slowly limping towards them. When she got to Sain, she started screaming.

"Hmm, what is it now?" Mark said as he and the rest of the group, whom were waiting outside, ran it to face whatever danger may have come. They came in to see Sain hiding his face beneath his arms and Kent trying to calm down a woman in her 30's whom was looking as if she saw a ghost.

"What happened?" Lyn said when she arrived.

"Oh my god… he's sooo ugly…" the middle-aged woman said catching her breath.

"Kent, you're the reasonable one, tell me what happened," Mark asked him since the woman was just staring at Sain and Sain was on the verge of tears.

"Umm… Sir Mark. When we came in, we saw a woman approaching us… and well… the first thing she saw was Sain and well Sain," Kent left off there. Everyone already pieced together what happened and were laughing so hard that they were all red on rolling on the floor. Sain never recovered from the poison ivy rash that plagued his face and so he did look like some sort of monster.

"Ah, well enough of that…" Mark managed to get out after 5 minutes of pure laughter. "So who are you miss, and what your business here is traveling without an escort."

"Well mister, my name is Natalie, and I'm looking for my husband. Here's a portrait of him, tell me, have you seen him somewhere?" she asked, handing them a portrait of a heavily built man with a serene look on his face.

"I'm sorry madam, but we haven't seen him before," Lyn said apogetically.

"Oh, well if that is the case, please tell me if you ever see him. He went away from our home in Pharae to find some money to cure my childhood sickness. As you can see, I can't walk well on my right leg… I just hope that he won't do anything foolish…" she was cut off when Florina started to shriek.

"My lady- I mean Lyn! There are a few bandits heading this way! Wait, make that a lot! Some of them are archers," she informed.

"All men and women at the ready! Lyn, take the entrance to the west, Sain, Kent, you guys have the front entrance! Do your best to stay within the fortress, that way you can simply wait for the enemy to come to you and cut them down. Wil, you are to protect Natalie and shoot down any enemy that can breach any entrance. Move it!" Mark ordered. "May, do as usual, heal any injured allies. Wait, is your staff still working or is it still broken?"

"Umm… yeah… it's working now!" May said carefully and left. Mark stood on a wall to help him see what needed to be done. There must have been at least 15 bandits which were enough to tire any group of 6. Unfortunately, he found that there were reinforcements heading towards them. If they arrived before time, there would be about 40 of them to face!

"Florina! Come, Avoid all archers but go and aid Wil, I doubt we will fall, but… if somehow we do, rescue Natalie and Lyn and continue on your way to Caelin, understand?" But then at the corner of his eye, he saw a wall to the east crumble and fall apart to reveal about 2 archers and another bandit coming. Unfortunately, at the corner of his other eye, he saw a man that held a hand axe and was approaching Lyn unexpectedly, for she was busy fighting 2 other bandits. For a moment, he thought that he looked quite familiar. Then he heard the scream.

"Mark, help!" May screamed as she was hit with an arrow and Wil was too busy shooting the other archer to notice the approaching axe-wielder and the other archer. On the other side of the fortress, he saw that the familiar-looking bandit was still approaching Lyn, preparing to throw his hand-axe at her…

'What to do, what to do!' Mark thought. Saving one would mean risking the other! Mark took his grey blade and unsheathed it. (A/N: I know what you're going to say when you read the next part!) He threw the scabbard at the archer and the sword point-first towards the axe-wielding bandit, both hitting the target. Then he ran to warn Lyn, when the guy threw his hand axe. Mark knew what to do. He jumped and grabbed the hand axe out of the air, running into the next two bandits, who saw him and swung their axes at him. Mark threw the hand axe and killed one of them. Unfortunately, it was too late and both axes still hit the target.

"Argh!" Mark screamed in pain as one hit his right sword arm's shoulder and the other one connected with his left thigh. Then he fell down.

"Mark!" Both Lyn and May screamed at the same time. Lyn swung her Mani Katti, killing the two bandits, she was going to kill the one that threw the hand axe too when she recognized him.

"You, you're Dorcas, Natalie's husband!" Lyn exclaimed. She couldn't kill him.

"Natalie… how do you know her? Who are you?" Dorcas asked.

"You're wife is inside the building, are you going to join us or continue fighting us? Do you think you're wife would appreciate you joining bandits just to help her?" Lyn said, persuading him to join them.

"You're right," he said, and with that, he ran off towards the room with Natalie inside. May had already arrived and was tending to his wounds. Florina took over the fighting at the west gate, taking care of the mercenary reinforcements.

"Sophia…" Mark got out, going unconscious. Then snapping back to reality, said: "Take out the leader… it will demoralize… followers…" he managed to say, then completely blacked out.

Sain and Kent had secured the main gate and Wil was simply picking off the reinforcements. Florina was also doing spectacularly against the sword users. Dorcas was absolutely amazing, rushing out of the fortress and demolishing everyone with his axe and eventually taking out the leader, sending everyone else into retreat.

After the battle, everyone gathered together to discuss Mark's condition. It wasn't good. One of the axe blows had hit a muscle that wouldn't heal for at least another three weeks or so. Until then, he wouldn't be able to use his sword arm. May was furious while Lyn felt guilty.

"This is entirely your fault! Why would he rescue you anyways? He barely knows you! He's known me for years!" May said to Lyn. Dorcas felt he had to step in.

"Miss May, I believe I must also hold a little bit of the blame. If I didn't throw that axe, none of this would have occurred," Dorcas said sincerely. He was truly feeling very bad about this.

"Be quiet! You were only doing your job, but I don't see how pretty face there could have missed an elephant approach her!" May continued.

"I… I don't think this involves me… but Lyn was occupied fighting two other bandits I believe…" Florina said shyly.

"SHUT UP!" May screamed, scaring Florina into tears. Then she turned to Lyn, who hadn't said anything to defend herself.

"Say something!" But Lyn remained quiet. May's next action shocked everyone.

She walked up to Lyn and smacked her across the face.

**Author's Note:** …Is that considered a cliffhanger? Well, the next chapter will be a side chapter. Please review. Just don't say my tactician is too strong. He's almost dead.


	8. Chapter 5x: Jealousy Explodes

Well, this is going to be a continuation of my last chapter. I'm currently wondering, just how many people actually like this story? The number on the hits counter is extremely high, but is that just one person reading a chapter 50 times, or are they separate people that are reading my story? How confusing… Anyways, from now on, all of my chapters will have more description. Maybe that will make it better… Also a slight warning: this chapter may have more… violent language. That's why it's rated for teens.

**General Subwoofer: **I still love that pen name! It's so hard to please you, so listen. This goes for Maria of… as well. How much do you really know about the character of Mark? Just because you don't see his flaws, doesn't mean he doesn't have any. It was way too early too classify him as a Gary Stu, especially in a 50 chapter fan fiction. It may have been a better story if I did not change my plot every time someone else told me to. I'll abide by my original plan now. No more changes. Anyways, by the end of Lyn's story I hope I can get a good review out of you. Until then, enjoy!

**The Gamer:** You are the only person who has never given me a review with criticism in it. (Other than KiraYamato1) Thank you, I appreciate it! I'm glad you like it and I hope you enjoy Japan!

**Aweirdguy:** Thank you for your review! This relieves a bit of pressure from me. You will find that Mark's character and powers will be more stable from this chapter forward. Good luck with your story, I will always review!

**KiraYamato1:** Ah, I was wondering if you were reading my story anymore! I'm glad you liked it and hope you will continue to R&R!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters… at the moment anyways… (Insert evil laughter)

**The Battle Wizard Chap 5x:**

**Jealousy Explodes**

Everyone was in shock. They were waiting for a reply from Lyn… and they got one.

SMACK! Lyn had just slapped May so hard, that birds that were perched on top of nearby trees heard it and flew away. Florina was crying again, Sain just wanted something to eat while he watched the fight, and Kent, despite his knight training, couldn't help but feel helpless as to what he could have done. Part of him wanted to help his Lady Lyndis, yet he couldn't bring himself to hit a girl. It was against all a Caelin knight stood for.

"You b! I am going to kill you!" May screamed in a way fit for that of a berserker. She pulled out a dagger and swiped at Lyn. Lyn managed to dodge it and pull out her Mani Katti, but she was reluctant to use it even if May was getting on her nerves.

'Hmm… if I kill her, I can make it look like an accident and Mark will never know… then again, he'll probably still be angry for a while so I won't do it,' Lyn thought to herself. She used her Mani Katti and struck the dagger out of May's hand.

"Enough, May, I'm sure Mark won't appreciate us fighting amongst ourselves. Especially when there is an outside enemy much more terrible than this," Lyn tried to reason.

"What makes you think that you know what Mark's thinking? I've known him far longer than you. And besides, outside enemy? Yes, we have an enemy because you had to be the daughter of some lord who can't keep his brother or whatever under control!" May said.

"What! Don't you dare insult my family, you… you… whore! Look at those skimpy clothes, why do you wear them, to attract men for money?" That comment hit home for May. She was furious, so she jumped Lyn and started pulling on her hair while Lyn was just punching May's thighs.

Although no one took their eyes off, there was only one person enjoying this fight, and it wasn't too hard to guess who. While Sain watched, he noticed that Mark was stirring slightly and was going to tell everyone, but decided against it since that would stop the action that was going on around the room. The two women continued to fight, but soon stopped as they heard something said from Mark. Was he waking up?

"Sophia… Sophia…" Mark moaned, apparently still unconscious and dreaming. The two girls forgot about each other and went to see how Mark was doing. Hearing what he said, both of them felt a little pissed and jealous. 'Who is Sophia?' they thought.

Soon after that, Mark opened his eyes and began to get up, but found that he couldn't.

"Mark, are you alright?" Lyn and May chorused. They glared at each other.

"Yeah… what happened? Why are you two covered in those scratches? Ouch! I can't move my arm!" Mark asked with a slight panic to his tone.

"Well, Lyn and I… we had a… disagreement… Yeah, well, about your arm… you won't be able to use it for a while. That axe blow struck down to your bone. As for your thigh, it's going to hurt if you walk too far. Unfortunately, it's going to hurt even if you ride a horse…" May said apologetically, her whole body was aching terribly, and she had a black eye.

Lyn wasn't doing any better either, her head hurt from the hair pulling. Although she had come out with fewer bruises than May, her pride was hurt since May was on top of her most of the time. 'This isn't over, May!' Lyn thought to herself bitterly.

"Disagreement… nice term for it… May see me after this meeting is gone," Mark ordered. He was feeling terrible right now; he wouldn't be able to fight. Plus he would only be a hindrance to the group since he can't even move properly now.

"Umm… but Mark, I was part of the fight too…" Lyn said, trying to get his attention. 'Does Mark even care for me? He asks for May to accompany him, but not me!'

"All I need is May. Anyways, how long will it be before my arm will heal?"

"It should be about a month before you can move it at all. Maybe a total of 6 weeks before you'll be able to use a sword or fight," May informed. She was overjoyed at hearing his last statement. 'This will show Lyn that he trusts me more than her!'

"Alright, excellent, everyone, leave this room now. Everyone except May, that is. When they had all left, Mark asked May a few questions. The room he was in was old, just as the rest of the fortress was, but he was still thankful that he had a room to stay in, nevertheless.

"Ok, now everyone has left, tell me, what really happened when I was unconscious, and I want the truth," Mark asked May. The evening breeze was blowing through the open window nearby, making May feel uncomfortable.

"Well… it was Lyn's fault that you were… hit by those two axe blows. I couldn't control myself, so I slapped her. Tell me… do you like her?" May asked apologetically. Mark had to ponder about this for a while.

"I don't know… I don't get into these types of situations often… The truth is that I already like someone else. Unfortunately, I don't even think I'll see her again," Mark said, thoughts far away until May said something that snapped him back to reality.

"Is it Sophia?" May asked, feeling horrible and slightly heartbroken. Yet in a sick way, she was hoping Mark really would never meet Sophia again.

"What! How did you know…?" Mark asked slightly distraught.

"I heard you murmuring her name in your sleep. It was obvious that she was once your lover or something," May replied disdainfully.

"She's not my lover, she's my savior. She rescued me after I took down the rebels near Etruria. I… I never felt more…" Mark decided not to continue for it was quite painful having a feeling as if you weren't going to see a close friend again.

"I see… May I leave now?"

"Yes, please leave." After May left, Mark decided what to do next. His right arm along with his shoulder and thigh was hurting. During battle though, he would still need someone to protect him while he gave the group their orders. He also saw however, that his Grey Blade was no longer flashing white or red. 'Great timing, the moment my blade's power is restored, I become a near cripple,' he thought bitterly.

Mark then left the room quietly and left to take a walk around the fortress. He saw Dorcas and his wife in their room and decided what he should do.

"Dorcas, I need to speak with you and your wife for a moment please."

"Mark, you shouldn't be up. Come, sit down and talk." Dorcas offered.

"No thank you," he was about to say until the pain in his thighs became almost unbearable and he was forced to swallow his pride and sit down.

"So Mark, what is it you wish to say?"

"Dorcas, I know you still need money for your wife. I'm sure Lyn has already told you of our ordeal. Why don't you come with us to Caelin and fight for us? You can earn quite a bit of money this way."

"Actually Mark, I was just telling Dorcas that he should go with you and repay the kindness you and Lyn have shown us," Then Natalie turned her attention to her husband. "Don't worry about me, Bartre can care for me in Pherae, and you know that we can trust him." After debating about it for a while, Dorcas finally came to a decision.

"Very well, I will go with you Mark, but what made you ask me upright to join you?"

"I… need a guard to protect me while I am still… injured," It was, even now, hard for Mark to admit he was at a point of weakness at the moment. "You, Dorcas, will act as that guard." At that Dorcas nodded.

"Well… good night to both of you." Mark turned to leave, but when he was at the door, Natalie called out to him.

"Mark… I have grown accustomed to my leg as it was a childhood problem. I admit that it took me a while and that I didn't really have anything that was as important as what you're doing… but I can tell that you're used to being the powerful one. It will take time for you to get your brain to recognize that you are no longer as powerful, but it will happen eventually, so relax. And also, you are young. You are not as experienced about love as Dorcas and I, but you will," Natalie said with a knowing look. "To shorten it all, you don't know everything yet, so don't push yourself too hard, and don't get overconfident." This time, Mark fell silent and nodded.

Meanwhile, at Castle Caelin…

"So… the girl is approaching the border… Bah! She'll never make it! The bandits will kill her before long! Attend me!" a tall man around his late 50's yelled.

"Y…Yes Lord Lundgren, you called?" a Caelin messenger asked timidly.

"How is our plan working?" Lundgren asked gruffly.

"Wonderfully, Lord- I mean Hausen does not suspect a thing. He's taking the poison daily and his health is slowly deteriorating," the messenger replied.

"Excellent! Soon the throne of Caelin will be mine!" Lundgren started to laugh like a maniac before he started coughing violently. "I'm getting too old for this…"

**Author's Note: **So… how did you like it? Still debating over a pairing, I've asked for one since the first chapter and yet the only one I have gotten was Mark/Lyn.Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and I'll be updating soon! Please R&R! And please do your best to restrain yourself from flaming, but still, just tell me what you think please.


	9. Chapter 6: Pinkhaired Demon

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you liked it! So many people want Mark/Lyn that unless others disagree, I'll do it! I'll try and add some scenery in this chapter, plus Serra appears in here!

**Aweirdguy:** Thanks for reviewing! You have reviewed every one of my chapters so far! But I actually think your last fic was pretty good. Plus, you pretty much get the same number of reviews I do, but if you want to start a new fic, then good luck with it!

**Legendary Double-edged Sword: **A new reviewer! Yep, everyone wants Mark/Lyn! Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

**KiraYamato1:** Glad to see your reading my story now! Your Eragon fanfic rocks!

**Lord Kenshkrix:** Glad you like the story so far, thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's character. Seriously, what a waste of space…

**The Battle Wizard Chap 6:**

**Pink-Haired Demon**

"SAIN, if you stare anywhere below my face again, I will KILL YOU!" The scream was so load that it knocked Sain right off his horse. The horses also started backing up as if they saw a hungry lion. Then May reverted back to her original form and acted as if nothing happened. As the group progressed towards Caelin, some were beginning to let there guard down… some of them.

"Ah, we're almost at the Lycian border! We no longer have to fear anything!" Sain said joyously.

"Sain, you prat! Have you forgotten about threats from Lundgren? Don't forget about bandits either. You can't let your guard down, have you forgotten your entire knight training at Caelin?" Kent scolded. He for one never let his guard down. Every evening, even when sleeping, he always kept a heightened sense of alert just in case, especially when Sain was the one keeping watch.

"Huh, oh yeah, I almost forgot about him…" Everyone in the party sighed at that. "Well, anyways, when we do get to the Lycian border, we'll finally get to eat good food, sleep on a comfy bed, and I also hear that the local innkeeper is a very hot woman!" Everyone sighed again.

"Sain! We will have no time to do any such thing. I believe it is best not to attract attention to ourselves by going public," Kent told Sain. Sain immediately began to start whining.

"Oh but come on Kent! Surely one night of fun won't hurt?" Sain complained. He even put on a sad puppy dog face that made everyone laugh. Lyn was the one that finally relented.

"OK, we'll go to the inn tonight."

"Ah, you truly are an angel from up high! Thank you!" Sain said.

"Sure, but you're not the only reason why I'm doing this, Mark needs rest too," Lyn said looking up at Mark who had traveled on Florina's Pegasus the whole way. He said the horses were way too bumpy for his comfort. Florina was quite nervous, but eventually relented after about half an hour of reassurance from Lyn.

"Hey, I need to thank you again, Florina. I know you're very afraid of men and it must be very nervous of you to allow me to ride with you," Mark said to Florina while they were still up in the air. It was quite exhilarating up in the air, you could see so much from up above. The lush green grass of the Sacaen plains were quite a pleasant sight. Though now they were approaching Lycia, he could also see a few big trees that made up parts of a forest nearby.

"Um… sure, no problem…" Florina said nervously. She knew Mark wouldn't harm her, but she was still nervous nevertheless. She had never had a man hold on to her for so long. She quietly scolded to herself. This was a problem she had ever since she was 8. For some odd reason it she just couldn't control it.

"Hmm… hey, Florina, look down there!" Florina looked down to where Mark was pointing and could see some men moving towards Lyn and the rest of the group.

"What do we do?" Florina asked anxiously.

"Let's go down and warn them," Mark ordered. He was already coming up with plans to stop the men. By what he saw, they were more Ganelon bandits, this time about 8 axe wielders and maybe around 3 archers. As they went down, Lyn ran up to them.

"What is it Mark? Is there something wrong?" Lyn asked.

"Yes, more Ganelon bandits, and yes you heard me right, it appears they just won't give up," Mark informed, seeing Sain's mouth drop. Soon, Lyn's Legion went into battle positions and got their weapons ready. Sain and Kent were to charge if they got near and tear them apart with their swords, although Sain insisted he used a lance. Wil was right behind them, ready to pick any bandits off that were out of range. Florina was scouting from above and watching for archers and Dorcas was to protect Mark on the sidelines. Anyone, injured would as usual call for help and May would heal them. Much to her disappointment, Lyn was her guard.

They saw the bandits as they got near them. It appeared that they wanted to perform a sneak attack but weren't counting on the Legion being ready for an assault. After Wil shot the first arrow, wounding one of them, they backed off. The leader then stepped forth.

"Hah hah, prepare to die! If we let you off, the others may start to think that we've gone soft! So you'll never be able to pass here without beating us! Men, charge!" the bandit said and then he retreated to the sidelines to watch. Luckily, Kent and Sain were way too experienced for this and easily beat off the bandits' advances.

As Florina watched from the skies though, she saw something weird going on near a hillside that was covered with trees…

"Ohhhhhh, loooook Erky! There seems to be a fight going on over there, let's go look and see what's happening!" a pink-haired girl dressed in a cleric's uniform said while dragging along an irritated purple haired mage that wore a red cloak.

"Nooooooooo! How did I ever get stuck with you? You are definitely not the 'frail' young cleric that I agreed to accompany to Ostia. And a fight? You do know that these men are dangerous, right? And stop calling me Erky, my name is Erk. Remember it, Serra!" the boy said. How he longed to be back in Etruria with his mentor Lord Pent. Lord Pent's wife, Lady Louise was also quite kind. Before he had even finished his sentence, he heard a deafening scream from his charge.

"HELP, ERK! This bad, bad man attacked me!" Serra screamed while butchering the archer/bandit that attacked her with the butt of her staff. Erk felt bad for the bandit, he could almost feel his pain. When he got there, Serra ran behind him in terror although there really was no need to. She had almost knocked the bandit out.

"Grr, you… will pay for this…" the archer got out. Then he got up, notched an arrow on his bow and shoot at Serra, who pulled Erk in front of her. Erk got most of the damage as the arrow scratched is right arm. But then he took out his Fire magic tome and shot a fireball at the archer, it hit him on his chest, burning a hole through his padding and almost killing him.

Florina had long told Lyn and Mark about this, so they went and found the pair over there, Serra poking the archer/bandit with her staff.

"Hello, may we help you?" Lyn asked.

"You sure can… get Serra at least 10 miles away from me," Erk replied.

"Hey there, may we join you? We want to fight too!" Serra asked Lyn excitedly.

"Who are we?" Mark heard Erk mutter under his breath. Mark saw quickly he was a mage and that Serra was a cleric.

"Yeah, well, I'm Serra and I'm a cleric, this is my companion, Erk, whom is a mage. Is that clear? Good! Let's move on then!" Serra said. "Watch, I'm so generous, that I'm even willing to heal Erk's wound for free." Mark, Dorcas, May, and Lyn all stared at her like she was crazy. "What, praise my generosity!" Then she turned back to Erk and used her Heal staff to mend the giant cut he had on his arm.

"I bet you haven't seen any miracles like that before!" Serra continued.

"Um… actually… we already have a cleric in the group… she's right here, and her name is May…" Mark said cautiously. Serra then looked at May and shook her head in disapproving way.

"Well, I bet I'm a better healer, not to mention I look better too!" That remark from Serra was sure to set May off, so before she could do anything, Mark interrupted.

"Yeah, well anyways, we welcome your help, but this is a battlefield and we've no time to waste! Serra… go and… show off more of you… impressiveness by going and healing Sain! You can introduce yourself to him in the process!" As Serra jumped joyously towards Sain, May decided to go heal an injured Kent. Lyn also decided to join the battle, to replace Kent while he was being healed. "Um… Dorcas, go fight as well, they need you there."

"Understood." Dorcas left and immediately began plowing down some of the bandits. This left Mark alone with Erk.

"Hello, Erk, do you remember me?" Mark asked. Erk, surprised by the question, turned towards Mark and was about to say no when he discovered that the real answer was yes.

"Mark? It's you! I thought your name sounded familiar! I don't understand, I haven't seen you for three years. What are you doing with this group? The last time I saw you were at the Reglay Manor where you left those three tomes with Lord Pent. I've never seen tomes like that before…" Erk mused. He truly was shocked now; he thought that he would never see his friend again.

"I know it's been a long. Did Pent use any of my tomes?"

"No, he put them away in some secret place… He never told me where, but I thought I heard him say that it was a hidden village or something… The one you made… Gespenst… I think, Lord Pent said that he had never seen anything like it before. How did you make it?"

"Well that's a secret. But I will say that I created it in the process of seeing Excalibur and Luce, therefore it is very similar to them. Anyways, enough of this talk, listen, I don't want anybody here to know my past. I'm not taking any chances here, so no one will know my true identity except you, ok?"

"Very well, I promise to tell no one," Erk said with his right hand over his heart.

"Thank you. Now go, Sain looks like he needs your help dealing with Serra. Truth be told, I've never seen Sain reject a girl like that before." It was true, Sain, for the first time, was actually running away from a girl. 'Wow, if not even Sain wants her, she must be really bad,' Mark thought to himself.

The fight went on until almost all the bandits were dead or wounded. Soon, the last person remaining was the boss, who went by the name of Bug.

"So now, are you ready to die?" Lyn asked.

"I will not be defeated by a girl!" Bug proclaimed. It would also be the statement that made Lyn show no mercy on him. She gracefully slid up to him and easily dodged Bug's attack while slicing his right foot so he could no longer walk properly. That was when he went berserk and started swinging everywhere with his destructive steel axe. So while Lyn distracted him by easily dodging his blows, Wil shoot an arrow which took out his other foot and Erk sent a fireball that hit Bug directly across the chest. Lyn allowed Bug to stand up one more time to defend himself before she let loose the fury of the Mani Katti to kill Bug and end their dispute with the Ganelon bandits once and for all.

"So it's finally over with the Ganelon?" Wil asked.

"It had better be! We've faced off three times now!" Sain replied. Then he saw Serra approach. "Ah, it's the pink-haired little demon! Hide me!" Then he went behind Florina's Pegasus, whom unfortunately shared his master's opinion of him and kicked him using his hind legs.

"That was an easy battle!" Serra declared while healing a few nasty bruises a bandit had inflicted on Erk.

"Thank you for all of your help," Lyn told her.

"Don't worry, I know you're all grateful, there is no need to give me pricy gifts fit for the queen I am." Everyone started to stare at her again. "Why does everyone always look at me like that? I know I'm beautiful, but staring is impolite you know!" Everyone quickly looked away.

"Hey Serra, how would you like to join Lady Lyndis and I on our little quest to save Caelin?" Sain asked. Mark and Erk shared a look. Was this the same Sain that wanted to hide from Serra only two minutes ago?

"Sain, hold your tongue! You've just exposed important information there!" Kent reproached furiously. 'Why is my companion always like this? Of all the other knights in Caelin, I had to be paired up with him! True, Sain is pretty good with a lance and despite his constant flirting with random women, but STILL!'

May was sharing similar thoughts. 'Is there no one in this camp other than Mark that can actually get along with me?'

"Did you just say 'Lady'? I knew it! The moment I looked at you, Lyn, I knew you were a Lady! Come on Erk, you and I are going on an adventure!" Serra said merrily.

"Oh St.Elimine… why me?" Mark looked at his old friend and felt his pain.

**Author's Note: **That was slightly longer than any of my other chapters, which isn't really saying much. That's the end of that chapter, so please R&R! And do your best not to flame.


	10. Chapter 7: The Love Pentagon

This chapter got slightly less reviews than expected… That means I must improve! In this chapter, you are going to see a more human side of Mark.

**Aweirdguy: **LOL! Thanks for reviewing again; I can always count on you to review! I hope you post your new story soon!

**Toastyann: **I like the way you write your criticisms, they tell me a lot and I appreciate them. I also thank you for taking so much time to write such a long review! Anyways, these A/Ns are shorter than my stories, so I think its okay. And if it isn't… sorry!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters. How much do they sue you if you don't write this?

**The Battle Wizard Chap 7:**

**A Love Pentagon**

"It's sure taking long for Kent to get back…" Sain said impatiently. 'How long does it take to get back from a meeting?' he thought.

"Give Kent some time. He has to negotiate with the Marquess of Araphan. I hope he succeeds… Having a small legion behind us will make it much easier to take Caelin than only having a small group to deal with…" Mark said, irritated with Sain for his stupidity. 'A meeting like this must be dealt with discreetly, any errors and there would be a possibility that they would be charging towards Caelin with a force of 8! Lungdren must have at least 200 men on his side, if Kent doesn't succeed…' Mark shook the thought off his mind, since when was he the one to ask for help? If Marquess Araphan really would not help, Mark will wait until his wounds heal and destroy Lungdren personally! It was also that moment that Kent had arrived back from the castle. Mark assumed that Kent had considerable success since Mark had never seen Kent so content. Usually, he just had a very professional look on his face and didn't show any emotion.

"My Lady Lyndis, Lord Mark, I have good news. After my meeting with the Marquess of Araphan, he has promised to give us an escort of 50 soldiers to enter Caelin. With it, our journey to Caelin will be significantly safer and quicker," Kent told everyone, pleased. "Come, we must meet the Marquess first." As everyone entered the city, the fresh aroma of hot food and the noises of a great crowd indulged their senses. Everyone was having fun until they began to hear shouts and people began panicking.

"There's fire in the castle!" one of the many civilians warned. It was true, Mark could see smoke coming out from the center. Yet from the corner of his eye, he could also see armed men charging towards the castle, which also distracted him from the man that was heading towards Lyn from behind.

"You, you're Lyndis, are you not? Prepare to die!" Then the armed swordsman swung at Lyn and almost hit her until an arrow stopped him dead in his tracks. Mark turned to see a nomad riding towards them holding a bow.

"Thank you for saving me. May I ask your name?" Lyn asked the man on the horse. Kent chose this time to try and get Lyn out of there.

"Lady Lyn, come on, let us leave this place," Kent said, trying to drag her away from the nomad.

"I'm sorry… I thought you were a Sacaean plainswoman… I was wrong." But as he turned to leave, Lyn stopped him again, an action that caused Mark and Kent to feel a small pain in their hearts.

"Wait, you were right, I am from Sacae. I am Lyn of the Lorca tribe. Now, as a Sacaean, may I ask your name again?"

"Lorca… so there were survivors… Very well, I am Rath of the Kutolah, leave while you can. I am the guard of the Marquess and I must attend to my duties," Rath said evenly.

"No, I will fight with you. It is partly my fault this is happening I believe. These men, they are mercenaries after me sent to destroy relations between Araphan and myself," for some odd reason, both Kent and Mark had a feeling of wanting to take Rath's bow and shoot an arrow through him.

"I see… very well, I will accept your aid…" Rath said quietly.

"Thank you Rath! A thousand blessings upon you!" Lyn said with an obvious sparkle in her eyes. Kent was doing his best to use his knightly training to control himself. Mark was feeling crushed and trying to concentrate on his surroundings. May was simply overjoyed.

"Yes… and a thousand curses upon our enemies…" Rath finished.

"Alright, enough of this, we must take care of this problem. Rath, is there any way to enter the building without encountering the flames that cover the main gate?" Mark said professionally, despite the pangs in his heart.

"Yes… there are three buttons scattered around the outside… if you press all three, a secret gate that leads directly to throne room will open and we will be able to save the Marquess…" Rath explained.

"I see… very well… we must get keys to open the doors though… if we only had a thief on our side…" Mark mused.

"Did someone say a thief?" A man in a red cloak popped out of nowhere. Mark could catch a small glint of a dagger cleverly concealed in his robes. "If so, then I'm the man for you!" He said cheerily.

"So you want to help? Why?" Mark asked the man.

"Well, I'm a little low on money here… so I would be willing to help you for a little… gold. Yeah well anyways, my name is Matthew, and you're going to be my employer, so tell me what to do!" The man said that so fast, that Mark had absolutely no time to object, so he decided to simply shut it and go along with him.

"(Sigh) Very well, umm, let's see how good you are. Go and open that gate over there. Rath, if you meet any resistance, crush it." Mark was half hoping Rath was an amateur nomad and that he would be killed by the enemy. He quickly reproached himself and told himself to focus on the battle. "Okay, Dorcas, Serra, go to the local villages and see if they have any keys we can use. If you find any, go to the room over there and open it up." Dorcas gave Mark a terrified look, but he pretended that he didn't see it. He knew perfectly well how annoying the demon/cleric was after that horrifying trip to Araphan. She even managed to annoy Sain when she told him to stop looking at other women since she had 'all the beauty a man would ever want.' "Sain, Kent, stop those men heading towards us with your lances. Wil and Erk will pick off as many of them as possible before they reach you."

As they all did their jobs Mark heard Rath say that he found the first trigger. And it was true, for a whole part of the castle opened up. It was quite cleverly designed since not even Mark would have thought that there was a secret entrance to the castle so unnoticeable. 'I will have to keep this in my notes,' he thought to himself. Lately, he decided to keep everything he knew in books. This way, if his brain ever froze up, he would still have his studies to refer to.

"Lyn, keep to that wall over there. I think there may be another secret passage way over there. There is also a chance you may be ambushed, so be careful!" Mark ordered. He was looking at Lyn in such a puppy doggish way, it made Lyn worry.

"Umm… are you okay, Mark?" Lyn asked concerned. Mark quickly snapped back to his poker face again.

"Yeah… of course… there is nothing to be worried about… right?" Mark said rapidly. His brain all of a sudden lost function and he felt himself blush as bright as a cherry.

"Uh… ok… I think I'll go now…" Lyn left towards her assigned spot. Mark cursed himself mentally. May was planning to herself.

'Hmm… it's obvious Lyn has a new found crush on that nomad Rath, yet Mark seems to now be more… out of control. I've never seen him like that before. I'm happy yet sad! How on earth am I supposed to feel about this!' May thought to herself.

As Lyn made way to her assigned spot, she was still thinking about Rath. 'Rath is a Sacaean nomad! I always wanted to meet someone else that was Sacaean on this journey! Now I have! Plus a cute one at that! He may even be better looking than Mark!' She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she did not even notice the wall behind her move and reveal an opening. Rath and Wil did however and also saw two soldiers with iron lances sneak up behind her, preparing to stab her. They both shot arrows that hit their targets, but when Lyn turned around, only Rath was in her eyes.

"Oh, thank you for saving me! That's twice you did it, you're so brave!" Lyn told Rath ecstatically, leaving a very confused Wil.

"But… what about me? And besides, from what I've heard, Mark has done the same," Wil tried to add, but Lyn could do nothing but look at Rath admiringly. She even ignored Mark when he came limping towards her to ask her if she was okay.

Florina came down and took out another one of the soldiers headed towards them. Dorcas and Serra had also rejoined them and were battling against the soldiers. Matthew, with his bright eyes, had spotted a treasure chest nearby.

"Mark, over there is a treasure chest… Mark…? Are you still with me?" Matthew asked, seeing Mark's eyes glazed over in small amounts of red. "Mark! Are you okay!" Matthew quickly shook the red out of him.

"Argh... Huh? Matthew? What happened?" Mark asked dazed. He was feeling as if he just had a very bad diarrhea, but he still had a faint idea of what had happened. "My gods! Is everyone still in one piece?" he cried.

"Um… yeah, is there any reason why they shouldn't be?" Matthew asked puzzled.

"Uh… no reason, just making sure! Anyways, what were you saying to me before all this?" Mark said quickly.

"I said that there was a treasure chest over there, and since you're the boss…" Matthew said with slight suspicion still in his voice.

"Oh, so you want to see it's content and then… maybe… keep it?"

"Heh, heh, heh, maybe…" Matthew said slyly. 'In a castle like this, there must be something good in there! I know it!'

"Hmm, very well, go open it," Mark conceded. He knew that that was the smart thing to do in a battle like this.

"Yay! I'm glad I'm working for you!" Then Matthew ran to the chest to open it and found an Angelic Robe. "Wow! This item can really help your endurance in battle! Here, Mark, you can see who to give it to as you see fit. I'm not a tightwad!" Mark took it and decided to give it to Lyn if she would just take her eyes off of the accursed nomad for just 5 seconds, though at this point, it seemed as if that were impossible. He decided he would give this to anyone he really loved. Matthew had already gone off to another chest and found an armorslayer hidden there. Soon, the battle was almost over and the only man left standing was a knight named Bool, which incidentally rhymed with 'fool' in Mark's opinion.

Mark quickly went up to him.

"Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you, you big fat Bool!" Mark taunted.

"What? You dare taunt me! You're a cripple! I'll teach you to laugh at me!" But as the fat Bool went up to Mark with his steel lance, Matthew quickly went behind him and cut through his heavy armor using the armorslayer. Then Lyn came (oh my god! She took her eyes off of Rath!) and finished him off with one beautiful swipe with her Mani Katti.

"You see that, Rath! Did you see that?" Lyn went up to him and started to brag; something else Mark had never seen her do. 'Well, at least we'll be through with him after we leave Araphan,' Mark thought relieved. Mark then went to the final button to press it, but Lyn hurried and ran past him and got to the button first. Mark was seriously annoyed now. He could feel his Gray Blade burning. It took all of his willpower to simply keep it under control. Soon, they went to meet with the Marquess of the place.

"Good job, Rath, now let us see the others." Mark quickly decided that he didn't like this man. He had a gigantic nose and he was going bald quickly. Not to mention a snobbish attitude as if he were better than everyone else.

"Hello Marquess Araphan. It is nice to meet you, I am Lyndis of Caelin," Lyn said, being as polite as she could possibly be.

"Hmph. So you are Lyndis. Do you know how much damage has been caused due to your petty problem? That settles it, I'm not going to help you," the oath-breaker said with distaste.

"What? But Marquess Araphan! You promised!" Kent said outraged. He had promised his lady something, and now he couldn't give it to her. Sain was just as angry.

"How can you retract on your statement! You vile…" Sain was so angry, that he couldn't even think of something to say.

"Yes, well you never said anything about how corrupted Madelyn's daughter was with her disgusting Sacaean blood." At that, even Mark was beginning to lose control.

"I see… if that is how you feel? Then I have nothing more to say to you. Come guys, we will head towards Caelin ourselves!" Lyn then turned her back to the Marquess and left, with Lyndis' entire Legion following her.

"Well, that was a waste of our time!" Sain said as soon as they reached the city borders.

"Forgive me, milady. I am a horrible vassal..." Kent said miserably.

"No Kent, don't blame yourself. It is not your fault. It's the Marquess' fault. All of it," Lyn declared venomously. But before anything more could be said, they heard a horse gallop towards them. To Mark and Kent's disgust, it was Rath.

"Rath! Why are you here?" Lyn said. She felt like a ton was lifted from her shoulders.

"I heard the Marquess talk to himself… I know how long it took you to get here. You will not leave here empty handed… You have my aid along with this…" Rath said, producing a bag full of gold.

"This… it's too much…" Lyn said, handing the bag back to him.

"No, keep it. Consider it my thanks for helping me earlier today…"

"…Very well. Welcome to the party!" Lyn said before heading on the road to Caelin once more. May was still delighted.

"Here Mark, I still appreciate you!" She said.

"May… thank you…" May was silently laughing to herself. Everything was going according to plan.

**Author's Note:** Yeah, that's another chapter… Don't worry; it's still Mark/Lyn! Just added this so the ending of Lyn's story won't be as predictable! In the next chapter, will find out more on how Kent feels about all this. And make sure you remember to leave a review!


	11. Chapter 8: Dawning Revelation

This chapter took me a long time to write! I think I have a pretty good idea of how the beginning of Eliwood's story is going to go. But I have a question. After I'm done with Lyn's story, should I write "Mark's story" as in what he did in the year after he left Caelin? (This may be of some importance.) Or simply incorporate it in Eliwood's story and write it in many separate flashbacks like I did in Lyn's story? Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story!

**KiraYamato1: **Random… yeah, I guess it was a little bit. Should I make May evil later on? And who should I pair her up with? Decisions… Well, thanks for reviewing again!

**Sirvy-cat:** Caught up? Wait, are you the "Gamer"? Yeah, well, either ways, thanks for reviewing! As for Rath… (Gray Blade turns red) Yes, will he get out of this pentagon in one piece!

**Aweirdguy:** Hope your story turns out great! Good luck!

**Omegaprime001:** Typing from a PSP must have been hard! Thanks for reviewing! Anyways, Mark/Sophia, huh… That was actually my original plan! But don't worry, Sophia does have a significant role to play later in the story. Who knows? I may even write something about Mark in the Sword of Seals era later on! 

**Legendary Double-edged sword:** Yep, Lyn's character was slightly… off… But I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters. But do I own Mark?

**The Battle Wizard Chap 8:**

**Dawning Revelation**

The journey through Lycia was going much faster than expected. They met virtually no resistance or attacks, but Kent knew the piece wasn't going to last. Eventually, Lundgren was going to send soldiers or assassins to stop them, but Kent also knew that he would always be there to serve and protect his charge.

His charge… Kent was still fighting, even when not physically, he was still in pain mentally. Kent took a look at Lady Lyndis again. The moment he had met her, he thought she was beautiful. Then over the time he spent with her, he found out how kind she was. Helping the defenseless, defending her comrades in battle, and giving all she had in battle. 'She's so selfless when it comes defending her friends… She's perfect…' Kent thought to himself. But he also knew that so long as he was a knight of Caelin, it was his duty to protect her, not to fall in love with her. Yet… who else was there?

Rath was still riding his horse with Lyn on his back. Absolutely oblivious to the admiring looks Lyn was giving him. Rath was deep in thought about his father, the Silver Wolf of the Kutolah tribe. 'He never liked me… He always thought I was weak… I will prove myself someday, then he will respect me and be proud of the son he has… I will be a worthy Silver Wolf.' Rath thought to himself.

Lyn was having thoughts about why Rath wasn't paying attention to her. 'Oh Rath… Why won't you look at me? No! I… why am I acting like this? I should be thinking about my mission, not this! But my mission… With Mark on my side, I guess I shouldn't have to worry… Then again, he's almost a cripple now… But I still have plenty of time…' Then Lyn resumed her admiration towards Rath.

Mark was very worried… something that had never happened before along with something he thought would never happen…

"_I'm sorry Sophia… I did not mean to offend you…" Mark apologized to her over and over again. Then Sophia turned around and looked at Mark with a sad look in her eyes._

"_The time we've spent together… it must end now…" Mark was outraged at this. The Grey Blade started shaking even furiously than before. _

"_What! No! Is there a reason why you must leave? Was it what I said?" Mark didn't want her to leave. Sophia was so enigmatic and kind that Mark wanted to go with her no matter where she went._

"_I will answer your previous question… No, I am not human. I… can't say anymore. Now I will leave…Please… forget me…" Then she left Mark, who was just sitting there pondering her last sentences._

'_I don't understand…' When she left, the Gray Blade finally stopped shaking. In his sorrow, he couldn't piece the mystery together, even if though the answer was right in front of him…_

"I don't understand," Mark said out loud as he felt his Grey Blade shaking uncontrollably.

"What don't you understand?" Florina asked. Mark was still riding on her Pegasus. She was getting used to him behind her, though it still made her nervous time to time. 'I've never had a man sitting that way behind me in that position for so long…' The thought of that made her blush furiously.

May was having similar thoughts about Mark and Florina. 'The last thing I need is more competition. I knew I should have been a Pegasus Knight in Ilia!' She was absolutely obsessed with Mark for the last two days. Every day that passed by, she could feel Mark growing closer and closer towards her. She made sure she was there to listen to him when he had no one else to talk to. Although what he told her over the past couple of days did make May feel sad…

"_I feel everyone thinks I'm worthless now… Look at Lyn… she completely ignored me over the past couple of days now that she has Rath… I don't understand. Lyn has changed too much since Rath's arrival for her own good. I must find some way to revert her before she forgets everything!" Mark told May at the campfire. They could still smell the leftover smoked fish from their dinner. Mark had tried catching a fish himself, but instead fell into the lake when the pain in his thighs became unbearable. This made Lyn, Wil, and Sain laugh. Kent, Erk, and Dorcas even had large grins on their faces. Serra would have been the worst, taunting him for so long, but what made him feel the worst about was the fact that they would laugh at him like that. Florina was too shy to laugh and May was just looking at him expressionlessly. _

"_Oh Mark, don't worry, you'll always have me by your side even if you were abandoned by all others," May purred soothingly. "And besides, that Lyn is a whore. It was because of her you were injured in the first place, and now a disgusting nomad has joined us, she has forgotten all about you and focuses all of her attention on him."_

"_Thank you for being by my side May."_

While her plan is working quite well, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad for Mark. 'It's all Lyn's fault! I didn't want to resort to this, but…' She was interrupted by Sain, who was grabbing her behind on his horse. May turned around, took her staff and whacked Sain so hard, he fell off of his horse… again.

As they got to the nearby village, they saw a green-haired boy run out of a local inn. He looked like he was in a great panic and didn't know what to do. Soon, he bumped into Rath's horse and fell over. Mark saw what was happening and got Florina to land. His Grey Blade shook even more violently. 'Why is this happening?'

"You people, are you mercenaries?" The boy asked as soon as Wil helped him up.

"And if we are?" Lyn replied back.

"Please help me! Those men, they are Black Fang and they have caught my sister! You have to help me!" The boy responded.

"You're sister?" Was the first thing Sain could say. May slapped him immediately.

"Wait, who are the Black Fang?" Lyn asked.

"The Black Fang are a group of assassins that hail from Bern. I don't know too much about them, but I've had the pleasure of meeting a few of them before… I think his name was Legault," Mark replied. He remembered them quite clearly from his trip to Bern. Silent and deadly they were.

"I see, then in that case, we'll help you!" Lyn replied without hesitation.

"Miss, are sure this is wise?" Kent asked. 'Again, she is here to help the defenseless… She truly is Elimine's perfection…'

"Yes, I'm certain. I'm sorry Kent, but I have to help him…" Lyn apologized.

"No, no. Don't worry my lady, I'm here to serve." Kent was touched by Lyn's affections once again.

"Thank you so much! My name is Nils and my sister's name is Ninian," Nils said gratefully. Just then, a woman… no, wait, a man that looks like a woman ran out of the inn and joined the group.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lucius and I am a monk. Please, let me help you. I saw the way the boy was treated by the innkeeper when he found out he was wanted, and I want to apologize for him," he said serenely. Then Sain came along and…

"Oh my, what a dazzling vision of beauty before me!" Sain said without a second glance at him… or the other glances the others were giving him.

"Um… Sain… I thought you were a womanizer, not a… "man"-nizer…" Mark said, barely able to suppress his laughter.

"What are you…? OH MY GOD! YOU'RE A MAN!" That set off the whole group. Even Nils and Rath were laughing.

"O-ok… Enough, we need to focus on our current task…" Mark got out, still stuttering from laughter. But then a masked man with a sword came and was aimed at getting the boy. Lyn managed to intervene just in time.

"Hmm… who do you think you are? We are the Black Fang! Interfere and we will crush you!" the man said.

"We aren't afraid of you, right Mark?" Lyn said. For some reason, this made Mark feel both grateful and angry at the same time.

'She ignores me at camp where her Rath is safe, then relies on me in battle? May's right… She's a leech and a whore… She is not worthy of my liking… I will help her right now because I promised her I would… I will never make such promises again…' Mark thought bitterly. He felt slightly betrayed.

"Yes… of course…" Mark said coldly. Everyone took it that he used this tone out of disgust of the enemy. Only May knew why he was so cold, and she smiled to herself.

"A cripple's going to stop us? You're kidding me right?" the masked-man started to laugh manically, and didn't even know May was running towards him until she slipped out a knife from her sleeve pocket and stabbed him with it. The man still had a smirk on her face when he fell. Lucius started muttering a prayer to the dead body. Everyone was in shock at the sight for no one knew that Mark had been giving May a few lessons on dagger-using lately.

Mark was proud. 'She is learning fast… Maybe faster than Lyn…' Before, it was Lyn he gave these lessons to. Lately, however, she was too 'busy' staring at Rath for these lessons, so Mark started to teach May a few things. Lyn overlooked it… until now.

"Alright, enough of this, here's the strategy. Lucius, go and take down those shamans. They should have nothing against you. All others go and take down the weapon using units. Florina, go and scout about the area and warn us if reinforcements come or if there is an ambush about to happen. Matthew, you will be here to guard me. Nils, stay by us. Now go!" Mark ordered. Nils, went back up to Mark again when everyone left to do their duty.

"Wait Mark, listen. I have a special ability. May flute playing gives energy to people when they hear it! I can help too!" He told Mark.

"Very well… Matthew, go protect him as he goes playing his flute. Move out!" Matthew was about to say 'What about you?' but decided against it. He knew Mark knew what he was doing.

Mark was feeling odd. He felt as if the Gray Blade was poring energy into him. But this wasn't the same as before, this time it also gave him an odd emotion that he had only felt once before. And that was when he was near Sophia. He was just thinking about it when he heard Florina scream. She was being bombarded by magic attacks from shamans all around her. Nils was beside her and playing his flute for her to give her strength for her dodges and counter-attacks. Then the emotion Mark felt exploded. A force he couldn't control made his good arm pull out his Grey Blade, which was glowing with a gray aura that was even deeper than it's original color. He raised it up and pointed it towards the air and a lightning bolt was sent straight towards… Nils! Florina's Pegasus quickly nudged Nils away from it so it didn't hit him. The impact of that blow knocked out everyone in that field long enough so Serra could go heal the allies, and Sain and Kent could slaughter the shamans.

"Now that has never happened before…" Mark said to himself. He looked at the sword and found out that it had stopped glowing but was still shaking. 'Now why would that have happened?' Mark decided to think about it after the battle. The rest of it was quite easy, except for the skirmishes with the shamans. They were quite a handful and they were defeated by Lucius's light magic and Florina's lance. Mark was soon approaching the leader while the rest were holding off the others.

"Who do you think you are? Attempting to rescue a woman from a knightly romance?" the shaman leader sneered.

"You are from the Black Fang. Why are you after these children? What could they have that you would possibly want?" Mark asked him. It was bothering him a lot. It felt as if all of these happenings were related to one another and yet Mark could not decipher them.

"Hah, that is none of your business! Prepare to die!" As the shaman was about to send a Flux attack, he was distracted by a shining light and turned to see Lucius throwing light magic at him. While distracted by Lucius, Florina came from behind like a bird of prey and stabbed the shaman throw the chest while on her Pegasus.

"You… will never succeed… The girl is already…" The man died before he could say anything else. Nils was now frantic and searching around in a nearby fortress, but couldn't find her.

"Ninian, where could you be?" Nils said, on the verge of tears. Then a man with red hair in blue armor stepped in the building, carrying a green-haired woman in his arms bridal style.

"I think this girl may be the one you're looking for," he said. Nils cried with happiness and ran to his sister. The man that came in was obviously a lord of Lycia and had an air of kindness that went with him if the look in his eyes wasn't enough.

"Thank you, my name is Lyndis. May I ask who you are and where you found her?" Mark looked away. 'Sure, now that the battle is over, you act like you're the leader. Hope you're brain is still intact after your mindless gazing of your nomad lover!' Mark thought angrily. May saw his discomfort and came to put an arm over his shoulder. This did not go unnoticed by Lyn.

"May name is Eliwood and I found the girl with a few nasty looking men. She looked quite distressed so I decided to free her. Did I make a mistake?" The slim man said compassionately.

"No, no; in fact, you rescued her from what may have been a terrible fate!" Lyn said.

"I see, may I ask what all of you are doing here?" Lyn decided to tell him her story, something Mark would never have done. He would never trust someone so quickly. Especially out here with all of those deceitful lords, Lyn had done nothing to improve his opinion.

"You don't have to believe us…" Lyn said after she finished.

"No, I believe you. As the son of Marquess Pherae, I am not allowed to help you… I'm sorry," Eliwood said sympathetically. 'Another trusting fool…' Mark thought to himself. 'The only way to stay strong and survive is to not believe everything you are told. Sure, you can go ahead and help those in need of it, but that doesn't mean you have to trust them.'

"You believe me? Thank you…" After they had talked some more, Eliwood left and said that he'd be near Kathelet for the next week or two.

"Who are all of you people?" Ninian asked everyone. She had just awoken and talked with her brother. Lyn told her who they were and what they were doing. Mark saw his sword react even more furiously than before. 'What on earth is wrong with it!' Mark thought, feeling his brain would explode.

"I see… Lady Lyn, would you mind if we traveled with you? I can dance if my ankle wasn't broken… but my brother can still help you along the way. It would be the least we can do after you helped us out," Ninian said. All Sain heard was dancer, and before Lyn could say yes, he rushed over to the girl.

"A dancer you say! That is absolutely fantastic…!" Mark left after May went up to Sain and smacked him straight across the head. He went a nearby garden that was still taken care of by the local villagers to take a breath of fresh air. When he left the presence of the siblings, he found the Gray Blade stopped shaking. After a while in the beautiful garden with butterflies, he found he could think clearer… until Lyn came by.

"Mark… Are you here?" He heard her calling.

"…Yes," he replied unemotionally.

"Mark… I was just wondering… the siblings… They have said that they lost a very precious ring to those men… I know we're in quite a situation right now, but I was wondering whether we can retrieve it for them…" Lyn said in a shy way that puzzled Mark. He was still pondering his reply and decided that he didn't have the heart to say no.

"Very well…" Mark said with an indifferent tone that did not puzzle Lyn.

"Thank you Mark, truly, I appreciate it…" Lyn turned around to leave when she turned back, walked up in front of Mark and kissed him on the mouth.

"Mark… don't think I haven't noticed my attitude lately… I haven't been focusing lately on the mission… I leave you to do all of the work while I do so little but talk… I'm sorry…" She turned around and left with a sad look on her face. She never knew May was hiding behind a nearby pillar, watching the whole thing.

'What? I thought I got rid of her! Very well, if you want to play… No one touches MY Mark let alone kiss him!' She thought, plotting her revenge as she left.

Mark was left there puzzled. 'She did that to take advantage of me!' he thought to himself. But deep down he knew it wasn't true. Frustrated, he threw down his Gray Blade to the floor, revealing the inscriptions Bramimond had put on there one thousand years ago. Then everything hit Mark at once and all pieces of the mystery came together.

'The Gray Blade was made by… He made it to… It reacts around… It tried to kill… The Black Fang wants them because…' Mark thought as he put the pieces together.

"Oh my god… That means Sophia, Ninian, and Nils are…!" Mark said, with a dawning revelation.

**Author's Note:** So… how was that? I hope you are pleased with this chapter! It took me a long time to write it! Please remember to try and review! Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 9: Quest for the Ring

Here comes the 9th chapter!

**Omegaprime001:** I'm glad you think it's good so far! BTW, Roy's story came after Eliwood's. FE7 is a prequel of FE6. I know it's confusing, but that's how it is. Thanks for reviewing again!

**Lord Kenshkrix:** Thanks for the review!

**Aweirdguy:** Can you please tell me exactly what you mean by too straightforward? I don't understand. But I do understand what you mean by too fast and giving you too much info at once. I'll try to stop doing that. Thanks for your review!

**KiraYamato1:** Ah, thanks for reviewing! I hope you get good ideas for the rest of your fic! Yeah, I know what you mean by slow computers… When I had dial-up, it once took me three minutes to log in! Now, I have wireless, and it takes three seconds!

**Legendary Double-edged sword:** Yeah, I know, my chapters aren't exactly very long… I'll try and make them longer from now on! And thanks for reviewing!

**The Phoenix of Etruria:** Yeah, think about it like this, Lundgren is Lyn's "external" antagonist. May is Lyn and Mark's "internal" antagonist. And yes, I realize Lyn is very out of character. You see, I don't really like the fact that she seems so… I can't find the words to describe it… So I made her less "perfect". I'll do my best to fix such problem. As for Sophia… you'll have to find out! Thanks for the review!

**The Gamer:** Welcome back! Yeah, I've played a translation for FE6 on a computer rom before. If I am to include Idoun, I would have to write something about Roy! This means a second part of this story… which I may try… but that's a long way off! I still got about 25 chapters to go for this fic! But it would be nice to see Mark in FE6 for once… I've only read one other fic where Mark is in FE6. (It's a very popular fic. Can you guess which one it is?) And yes, Sophia is also a shaman in FE6. Plus, since you have FE6 now, I assume you will also know who Narshen was in one of my previous chapters. BTW, did you see how old Marcus is in FE6! Well… thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's character except May and possibly Mark and Lyn since they are so OOC.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 9:**

**Quest for the Ring**

Mark and the rest of the Legion were heading towards the fortress stronghold of the Black Fang. During the whole trip, the main thing Mark was thinking of, was whether or not he should tell the two children that he knew. Another thing that often came across his mind was whether to trust them or not…

'They must be very angry with us humans… I don't blame them… As much as humans would like to cover it up and forget about it, the scars they left _them_ would never heal. What if they found a way to enter this world and want to take it back? Should I warn the other countries? No, they would never believe me… Besides, I don't know enough to judge these children… yet.' Mark thought to himself privately. He looked at Ninian and Nils. 'They look so calm yet so sad. Although Sain may have something to do with that…' After the two children joined, Sain had kept a 10 feet range with Ninian. It was as if he were a magnet. Mark turned his gaze to Lyn. For once, Lyn had her eyes straight on the road ahead instead of ahead at the darn nomad. She was finally concentrating.

"Enjoy the view?" A sneaky voice said from behind. Mark didn't even turn around.

"Hello Matthew. I see this is what happens when I ask Florina to ride low."

"Oh now there's no where to hide from me! Even if you did ride high, I'll still see what you're up to! I assume you are riding so low in order to 'see more'?" Mark knew he didn't mean landscape. Matthew saw what he was looking at before: a mane of long, green, hair.

"…I guess nothing gets pass you huh."

"You're learning!" Matthew said, ever cheerily. Sometimes his demeanor really got to Mark.

"… (Sigh) Yes, I came down here for the sole purpose of taking the role of Sain since he hasn't been doing anything lately, happy?" But right after he said that, he heard a loud…SMACK! Mark turned around to see Sain with two large handprints across his face that looked suspiciously similar to Ninian and May's, although they pretended nothing had happened. Nils was looking at his sister like she was someone he had never met before.

"Yep, I'm happy!" Matthew said before sneaking off again. It was amazing how thieves could just disappear like they were never there. Mark had already had one experience with thieves when he met Legault. Matthew often reminded Mark of him, since he also had that happy demeanor as if they didn't have a care in the world.

It wasn't very long before Mark finally arrived at the fortress stronghold of the Lycian division of the Black Fang. From Florina's Pegasus, Mark could see a bluish figure on a horse riding away from the castle. Immediately, Mark knew it had to be the Blue Crow, Ursula.

'I can't believe it. One of the Four Fangs just left the fortress! They must know about Ninian and Nils! Why else would the Black Fang be chasing them?' Mark turned to look at the two children again, but this time Ninian caught him looking. Mark immediately turned around again. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only that caught him looking.

"You see May! Mark's also looking at Ninian! So why is it you only hit me and not him?" Sain said. Mark never felt a stronger urge to stab the big mouthed oaf before.

At hearing that, May turned around to look at Mark, whom was not reacting at all to the statement.

'What? This is too tiring… I have to find a way to stop pretty women from entering this group PERIOD! Maybe I should take my dagger and stab woman in this camp when their sleeping! But then Sain would be… Why am I even caring what he thinks!' May thought to herself furiously.

"Mark, what do you think about the situation?" Lyn asked.

"The castle is heavily guarded, but that is only to be expected for the stronghold of the strongest assassin guild of Elibe. They are actually trying to pretend that they don't know we are approaching and ambush us when we enter. Yet sadly, they're doing a poor job of it. Must be lots of new recruits in there…" Mark mused indifferently.

"Lady Lyn… you don't have to do this… it's truly okay…" Ninian pleaded. Mark decided that it was real emotions she was showing.

"Not when you said this was your last possession of your mother's! Besides, Mark said we'd be able to win!" Lyn said, trying to bring out some sort of emotion from the legend. Even during the trip, he had been nonchalant and showed no emotions. Lyn really hoped he wasn't angry at her. 'I have to sort out my emotions and decide who it is I really care about… Is it Rath? Or is it Mark? Somebody help me… I don't have experience with this… Mark is supposed to be my teacher…' Sadly, Mark remained indifferent.

"Yes, with the right strategy and good fighting, our victory chances are high." 'I must get to that ring first. I've studied enough about dragons to tell if that ring was human made or not. This will be my final proof that these children are really what I think they are.'

"Alright, so what do we do?" Lyn asked more determined than Mark had seen her since Rath had arrived.

"Sain and Kent, you guys will charge toward the gate and slaughter anyone that gets in your way. Rath, follow them closely and do the same. There will obviously be a hidden brigade somewhere in there. Lyn, you are fast enough to dodge arrows, so go and divert there attention. Wil, Erk, you will remain hidden with Dorcas. When the force ambushes the horseman you will be there to take them out. Their surprise attack will end up being a surprise to them. Florina, you will have trouble fighting with me behind you, but follow my instructions and you'll be fine. Once the long range attacks take out the men, I want the horseman to retreat and the healer will heal you. Is that clear, everyone?" Mark asked. All he hoped for was that these Black Fang really were only new recruits, because if they weren't, the Legion would be in be trouble.

It wasn't long before they started their attack. Sain and Kent managed to break through the first line of defense. Although this time, the battle was a little different. The Black Fang were much stronger than the bandits they had faced before. While Kent was prepared as always, Sain was a little shaken up and got a few nasty wounds on him only 30 seconds after the offensive started. Rath's archery, although Mark didn't want to admit it, was very accurate. Almost every arrow he shot hit some target. The back ambush units came out, but almost before they managed to do anything, they were shot by Wil's arrow or were burnt by Erk's fire. Dorcas came from behind and plowed through the rest of them.

'So much for their ambush,' Wil thought, pleased with himself. Sain and Kent soon pulled back and allowed Serra and May to do their job. From behind, Wil could hear the soothing music of Nil's flute giving him strength to continue battling.

Lyn's job outside the fortress was even harder. The arrows were everywhere. Lyn was able to dodge all of them. Those that she couldn't, she struck away with her sword. One unfortunate arrow however, hit the side of her leg, slowing her down critically. Mark saw it from above.

"Florina, ride to Lyn!" Mark shouted from behind. Florina was about to do so until she saw tens of arrows being shot from the holes on the walls. "I know you're scared! But remember, this is helping you're best friend and saving her life. You got the courage to leave Ilia to aid Lyn, so I know you'll be able to do this. So please, let's go!" Florina nodded and flew straight into the barrage.

'So many arrows, but I can do this! If it means saving Lyn, I'll do anything!' Florina encouraged herself and plunged even faster. She heard Mark yell instructions from behind.

"Alright, I'm about to give you some training I saw some teachers teaching when I was in Ilia. Take out your lance, and get ready to butcher some of those archers!" With Mark's instructions, Florina flew towards the men on the tower, and then circled around it, confusing them and distracting them from Lyn. Mark used his good arm to draw the Gray Blade. Florina threw a javelin which struck one of the commanders.

Lyn saw the opportunity and retreated to the healers. But Florina wasn't done. She took her slim lance, spun it around her head, and stabbed and archer through the chest while Mark cut the head off another on his left side. They were so close to the archers, that none of them could shoot for fear of hitting their comrades. After they were done with another 5 of them, they landed so May could come and heal a few of the wounds the Pegasus got during the battle.

"Florina, that was amazing!" Lyn shouted, approaching them. "You were so brave! You fought your fear of arrows and your flying was absolutely amazing!"

"Well, Mark helped a lot… He taught me techniques only generals know…" Florina said modestly as always.

"Techniques? Well, only pros like you can pull them off!" Mark said jokingly. Florina blushed at the attention she was receiving from both Mark and Lyn.

May was only a few yards away, and saw it. She also saw Mark laughing. Being ever so irrational, she immediately took it the wrong way. 'I swear… one way or another… I'll put an end to this! Mark… if you ever get together with another woman… I'll haunt you until the day I die!' she swore to herself.

While in the fortress, Sain was beginning to wonder if there was ever going to be an end to all those reinforcements coming down the stairs. There must have been a total of at least 30 men in the castle before the reinforcements came. Then he saw Mark, Florina, and Lyn come from the gate, surprising a few of the enemy and killing them.

"Sir Mark, Lady Lyn! We can't take on so many at once! We should retreat!" Sain shouted over the turmoil. Only Rath and Wil were holding off the brigade.

"Sain, you lout! The Caelin knights do not retreat or fear the worst!" Kent scolded. 'Especially not in front of Lady Lyndis'

"Lots of reinforcements eh… Very well, Erk, set fire to the stairs to hold them off!" Mark ordered. Erk immediately set fire to the stairs. The men that were coming out of it retreated while being showered with arrows from Rath and Wil. Kent and Sain renewed their charge against the front lines.

"… Wait… is that an opening I see? Matthew, come here!" Mark shouted.

"Yes, milord?" the enigmatic man answered.

"You see that opening over there? I want you to see where it leads." After Matthew went for an inspection, he returned with seemingly good news.

"It leads directly behind enemy forces!"

"Perfect! Dorcas, Lyn, come here!" The two quickly made their way to Mark. "I want you two along with Matthew to sneak up that crack and strike the enemy from behind!"

"No problem!" Lyn said before going along with Matthew.

"Sain, Kent! I want both of you to steadily retreat…" Both men were puzzled by the request, but did as they were told.

Lyn was heading through the tunnel and found the way out. They saw the behinds of the forces attacking. 'This is our chance!' She thought to herself.

"Dorcas… go and block the door behind you so no one will step in on us! Come on Matthew, let's go slice them apart!" Lyn said enthusiastically. Together with Matthew, they sailed through the ground like shadows and slaughtered the back rows of the brigade before anyone even noticed them. When they diverted their attention to Lyn and Matthew, the rest of Lyn's Legion charged with Florina in the lead and together, they destroyed the defenses.

As Mark fought the enemy from behind Florina, he noticed how graceful Lyn looked when she fought. 'I've taught her well… May is also pretty good, but Lyn… I've never seen such skill. I've only taught her for about 10 days, but she has mastered everything I've taught her so far… She's one of a kind.'

They soon joined up again and charged once more up the fortress, knocking out everything in their path. 'We are so strong united…' Lyn thought to herself. 'We've even managed to take down a fortress of men. It was a total of 50 to 12 and we still prevailed under Mark's leadership.'

The leader was waiting for them at a far corridor by the end of the fort.

Lyn and May charged and engaged in combat against him. The man was good, for he was trained by the Black Fang. But May and Lyn were better, for they were trained by the Battle Wizard.

Yet there was something that bothered Mark. During the battle, he saw how May was fighting. The only wound Lyn received was not by the Fang, but by May. She had started stabbing her dagger all over the place like a berserker, and had hit the fortress leader. But she continued her stabbing. Lyn, who had but the Mani Katti back in her sheath, received a small scratch. May, with a bloodlust look in her eyes, was about to stab again, but noticed everyone looking and sheathed her dagger. She apologized and left.

'It had to be on accident… Yet there was no way she didn't know that it was Lyn that she was stabbing… No. May isn't like that. It must have been an accident,' Mark thought to himself. With Kent, he quickly rushed to her side.

"Milady, are you injured? That good for nothing… I will get that wench and stab her the same way she did to you!" Kent vented, forgetting that being a knight, he was suppose to be in control at all times.

"Stop Kent, I'm sure that it was only an accident…' Yet Lyn didn't look like she believed herself when she said it. She only stared at Mark in a blank way that made him nervous.

"Are you okay Lyn? Serra is coming to heal you. Meanwhile, Dorcas has already apprehended the Fang commander. We are ready to interrogate him when you are healed," Mark told her. Lyn finally found a little bit of emotion in his voice, and was touched to find that it was real concern.

"No, I am alright. It's okay, I want to get the interrogation over with before I am healed. I want to know why the Fangs are chasing the children." With that, everyone went towards were the Fang was held captive.

Kent was feeling very depressed. He had seen how Mark and Lyn behaved around each other, and knew that they were in love. But this wasn't just some obsession like Lyn had around Rath. This was two way. 'Maybe this is a good thing… This way, I won't have to break my oaths and tell her that I really love her…' So Kent held in his feelings against his better judgment, and proceeded to the interrogation.

"Why are you following the children? Have they done anything to you? Did someone hire you to do it?" Kent grilled the Fang. But the Fang said nothing and just looked down. "Also, where is the ring you stole from the children? Answer me!"

"Heh, heh… The ring we got was sold to a few men passing by… Don't know where it is now..." Ninian and the others were devastated. They had gone through all of that for nothing.

"Hmm… very well, you can redeem yourself by answering my other question. If you do, we may spare you…" Kent stopped when he noticed the man produce a vile of liquid. Dorcas did not take it away from him since he thought that it was water or something. Before anyone was able to do anything, he drank it. Kent tried to make him spit it out, but it was too late. Within 20 seconds, the man was fully dead.

"He chose life over betrayal… We aren't dealing with normal assassins here…" Lyn said. Then, all of a sudden, she fainted on the spot. Serra ran over to her and examined her wound.

"It's the injury! She was wounded worse than she let on!" Serra immediately began healing her. Ninian began sobbing.

"It's all my fault! This shouldn't have happened!" she cried.

"No, don't worry; this isn't that big of a wound. She'll be alright. And I promise, we'll find that ring somehow…" Mark comforted.

"Lord Mark… you and Lady Lyn are so kind…" Ninian said.

"It's fine… we'll see what course of action to take when Lyn wakes up."

After two hours, Lyn finally woke up in one of the fort's bed. Her eyes were also somewhat hazy. "Mark?" was her first word.

"Yes, I'm here."

"I'm glad… what do we do now? The ring… how can we locate it?" Lyn asked. 'It is amazing how she is still concerned for the ring when she was injured so badly. But how can that little wound cause so much trouble? Unless the dagger was poisoned! But May wouldn't do that… would she?' Mark thought to himself.

"We are lucky… I found a contract from the fortress stores. It points that the ring was sold to a Kathelet merchant. If we are lucky, we can still retrieve it." Then Lyn made as if to get up, but Mark stopped her.

"Stop, you must get some rest. You are no good like this. I've already sent Rath and Dorcas to find him," Mark explained.

"Oh, I see…"

"All we have to do now is wait… Lyn, I have right to believe the dagger May stabbed you with… was poisoned…" Mark looked to see what Lyn's expression would be. To his surprise it was calm and understanding.

"I see…" Lyn mused. Mark noticed how her eyes reflected the moon in the sky.

"I will go ask May why she had put poison on her dagger. I mean… I know she wanted to win, but she didn't have to resort to that!" Mark was going to go until Lyn shouted something.

"Oh don't you get it!" Lyn shouted in frustration. "She did it because…" She was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Immediately, Rath and Dorcas came in.

"Mark, I have important news…" Dorcas said without hesitation. Mark found it strange that Rath had his head down. He usually looked so proud…

"What is it? Have you found the ring?"

"Um… not exactly… We went to the village you spoke of Mark… When we found it… It was burning… There was a bandit attack…" As Dorcas said this, Lyn's fist tightened. "We found the blue haired merchant to be alive. He managed to hide somewhere along the trees. We asked him about the ring and he said it was taken by the bandits…"

"Then we must go chase them down at all costs!" Lyn said with renewed vigor. But Mark could tell by Rath's expression something was wrong.

"Rath, what did you find out?" Mark asked, fearing the worst.

"The bandits that stole the ring… They are renegade Taliver that separated with the others on their way back to Bern..." Lyn produced a visible gasp and then started swinging her Mani Katti as if in a nightmare.

**Author's Note: **That's the end of that chapter! As you may have guessed, the next chapter will be a side chapter with the Taliver! Remember to review please!


	13. Chapter 9x: The Baron's End

I hope everyone will like this chapter! I always hated how the game never let Lyn get her revenge on the Taliver, so I'll write how it ends! Anyways, there is a bit of… disturbing scenes in this chapter so you are warned!

**The Gamer: **Alright, if you'll read and review the story, I promise to write a sequel to this with Roy. So… you say you have a way for Mark to meet Roy? Alright, send it to me by e-mail or something, okay? And yeah, all the people in FE7 got weaker in FE6! Just look at Marcus (although that is explainable because he's almost 60!), Merlinus, and Bartre (I hate his mustache!)! The only exception is Karel, who kicks major behind in this one! Well, thanks for reviewing!

**Aweirdguy:** I'm glad you like it this time! Thanks for reviewing!

**Some guy:** I'm also glad you like powerful Mark! The only problem is others don't… But don't worry; he won't be crippled for long!

**Wrath of Rick:** It is? Wow, that's neat. But I wrote my story long before you started, so don't think I plagiarized or anything! Anyways, thanks for the review!

**The Phoenix of Etruria:** Ah, good point! And yes… I should work on Ninian now… but what should I do? Well, thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters with definite exception of my diabolical May!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 9x:**

**The Baron's End**

Dawn came and everyone awoke to prepare for their journey that now changed from south to east. Kent had been most objective to the new change of route.

"_Lady, we should be headed south! We should not stray this far from Caelin, especially for the ring of children!" Kent objected._

"_Don't you get it? This isn't about the ring! At least not anymore…" Lyn replied._

Sain was still complaining about having to get up so soon. But Lyn shut him up with a murderous glance, so he decided to woo Ninian instead, who looked as if she were about to scream in frustration, for her usually pale skin was glowing like a cherry in the sun.

Erk was still practicing his magic, although Mark believes this is his way of venting his anger. For when Serra came talking at 160 miles per hour, his magic became 160 times more vicious. There was once when he 'missed' and set fire to Serra's hair when he was supposed to aim for a log 12 feet away.

Mark was sitting on big tree branch nearby, watching the humorous events that were taking place below. His shoulder and thigh still hurt him and he was still unable to fight, but it was healing, and Mark wanted to take the opportunity to be somewhere with peace and quiet before they advanced to the Taliver hide out. Matthew, who was ever so brilliant, easily discovered their tracks and found the place with ease.

On the tree, Mark was thinking about how he used to climb high trees when he was only 11. He knew it was bad for him to be climbing so while he had an injury, but during the one week he had it, he understood how it felt to be helpless. Serra said that his wounds were healing faster than any she had ever seen, and that they should be completely healed in just two more weeks. Meanwhile, he could move his arm now. He just had to make sure he didn't stretch it too much, in other words, no fighting. Mark assumed that the Gray Blade may have had something to do with it, since after the Gray Blade had gone berserk and attacked Nils, he had found his shoulder working a little better. May said it must have been her wondrous healing abilities. 'Where is she anyways? I can see everyone from up here except her… I would jump down and find out… but I don't want to push my healing process right now… Besides, I know I can trust her…'

May was out in the woods near a stream, cleaning her dagger. 'I was almost certain Mark would find out about the poison. It must have been a miracle that he didn't find out… This is a sign from the gods… They want Mark and me together… but why did they keep Lyn alive? They must want her to suffer… In that case, I hear and obey!' After washing away all traces of poison from her dagger, she smirked and walked back to camp.

Mark saw May walk back to camp and sighed in relief. 'Good, this shows that she was only taking a walk, and not attempting to kill Lyn or something… Now, about the children… I'll let fate decide what I should do. If the opportunity arrives, I will tell them about what I found. But first, I must retrieve that ring!'

Later after the group had ate and prepared, they set out towards the fortress of the Taliver.

Everyone was tense and nervous, thinking about what was ahead of them. The Taliver was said to number almost 40 from where they were. To Mark though, this was going to be practice. The fortress had 50 Fangs, but the difference was, this time, they were going to be fighting in the wild, which was the Taliver's specialty. The branches and trees would make the horseman hard to move and it would also provide lots of coverage for the enemy. Mark sensed the uneasiness of the Legion.

"Everyone, it's time to plan what we do. In this battle, the enemy has the upper advantage with their experience fighting in the woods. I understand that not all of you may share that. However, with the right judgment, we can also use their experience against them…" Mark told the party plan.

"Hmm… not bad, it may actually work!" Kent said. 'The plan would need careful execution, but with a little bit of luck, it might work.'

Lyn was still full of anticipation. This was the moment she had been waiting for. This was the moment that she had dreamed of for so many months. She was twisting her Mani Katti waiting for the first sight of the enemy. 'Mark had asked all the men to leave the leader to me. Matthew had learned his name was Baron. Baron… I will crush your skull beneath me!'

"Stop everyone, we are here… It's time to enter battle formation! We will not lose." Mark shouted. The first Taliver bandits jumped out of the many bushes that surrounded them. Rath and Wil, however, easily took them out. Mark had purposely chosen the plain area of the woods. Here, even though they were surrounded, anyone who dared went out from hiding, would be easy picking for the archers. As for the enemy archers… before they even managed to shoot a single arrow, they saw a Pegasus knight from above swooping down on them. They were so mesmerized; they didn't even think for a second, that this was an exceptionally brave woman that was willing to dive down towards tens of archers just to kill them all. They didn't stand a chance. While mesmerized, Lyn took the advantage to dodge all the fighters and cut down the archers.

Then the full bloom of Mark's plan came to view. Erk came, protected by Dorcas, and set fire to the surrounding trees, forcing the Taliver out of the forest terrain and out onto the open trail. Kent and Sain charged and began to cut down all that they saw.

The Taliver soon became the ruthless monsters they truly were. They went wild, slashing everywhere they could. Some even hit their own allies in their berserk, desperate, rage.

Lyn, Rath, Mark, May, Florina, and Matthew soon proceeded towards the hideout itself to find the ring and kill the leader and the rest of his cronies. They were going to disband the Taliver once and for all.

The first line of defense was nothing. A few axe wielding men charged at the group and were easily cut down by the agility of Lyn and Matthew. Rath was saving the rest of his arrows for later. He managed to recycle some of his arrows and taking some from the enemy, so he still had a good 14 of them. May decided to be Mark's personal guard and kept by him at all times. Mark noticed that she was doing her best to edge him away from Florina at all times.

The second line of defense, on the other hand, was more than impressive. As everyone was moving forward, they ended up at a huge gate. No one knew what to do except open it. But when they did, all they saw was a huge chamber with walls that strangely didn't seem to hit the ceiling. It was when they entered and the gates shut behind them did Mark know what it was.

"Guys, hurry up and come to this side! Now, before it's too late!" But it already was too late. Arrows started shooting at all of them, separating them from each other. Then a wall sprang out from between them, separating them into two sides. Lyn, Rath, and Matthew were on one side and Mark, Florina, and May were on the other.

"It was a maze… Alright, we have to make it to the end of this maze! The others will figure it out themselves, but we must all get to the end. This is their plan to separate us and get us while we are separated. Let us proceed with caution," Mark said to the group and went on.

May followed closely with them and cursed the maze. 'I hope Lyn dies in here… That would be for best. Even if I can't kill her with my bare hands… and oh why did we get trapped here with this crybaby!' she thought, looking at the very nervous Florina.

On the other side of the maze, Lyn, Rath, and Matthew, had regrouped and were planning what to do next.

"Ah, if I know what I know right, this must have been a maze where they released prisoners or traitors in and see if they can survive… If they die… they suffer. If they survive, they are let free… Interesting…" Matthew commented.

"Interesting… is that what you think! They play with lives as if they were a sport! Baron, I will make you pay!" Then Lyn charged into the maze without a second thought.

"Wait! There are traps in here too!" Matthew warned. But Lyn wasn't listening. She charged on ahead and then found a wall open up. Two archers were behind it and shot arrows at her. Lyn managed to dodge them barely. Rath then planted two arrows into the men.

"Phew, that was close… I… this is what they want… I must start thinking rationally," Lyn said to herself.

"Yes, yes… that would be a very good idea…" Matthew said. They decided to make a left, continue, and see what they will meet. They soon reached a dead end, but when they turned back, six men cornered them. Two archers shot arrows that Lyn easily parried. Rath shot arrows at the charging axe wielders while Matthew evaded them and made his way to the archers, killing them both with one fluid motion.

"That takes care of them!" Matthew said before moving on to the rest of the maze.

"Hurry up!" Mark yelled. The maze wall was crashing down on them. While Florina on her Pegasus easily made it out, May and Mark were still running. Each step was hell for Mark, whose thigh was now burning with pain. But despite that, he was running just as fast as May. They got to safety right after the walls crumbled.

"That was way too close for me!" May exclaimed, falling down after running all that.

"We don't have time to lose. We want to be there when Lyn, Matthew, and Rath get to the finish," Mark ordered. He just hoped that Lyn was going to be alright. He also hoped that she wouldn't do anything too reckless.

"If they get past this…" May mused.

"Don't say that! I'm sure they will get through safely!" Mark scolded. May was getting very angry.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that your lover is in that group!" May shouted. She became even more furious when she saw Mark's face turn red. "So you do love her!"

"What if I do, what does it matter to you! Are you going to stab her with a poison dagger again? You did it on purpose didn't you?" Mark said, finally understanding. "You…" May was on the verge of tears. All she had hoped for was crashing down.

"I… you would have never loved me with HER still around. So the easiest way was to take her out of the picture…" May drew out her dagger. "You'll never love me now… I may as well die." She held it up to her throat and was about to cut it when Mark took out the Grey Blade and knocked her unconscious. Very soon, he noticed a small odd formation at the end of a small corridor. But before he could think, he heard Florina scream and rush back out that same corridor into the room Mark was in. She was closely followed by 8 bandits. Archers were also amongst them. She was doing her best to fight them off, but she couldn't do it forever.

'Maybe it wasn't a good idea to knock out May yet… Oh well, I'll have to do my best to help her…' Mark drew the Grey Blade using his good arm and felt a surge of power he hadn't felt in a while. He wasn't that good with his left arm, but it would suffuse for a while. He dodged a few arrows and cut one of the bandits across the stomach to kill him. He quickly looked around to analyze his situation. Then he came up with a plan.

"Heh, I bet none of you could even touch me!" Mark taunted. The bandits became enraged and started to attack him. He parried most of their blows and made his way behind all of them. Then when they came at him again, he went into the narrow corridor and kicked the lead bandit. They fell like dominoes onto the odd formation Mark saw earlier.

CRASH! The formation the tile was on sank down and the walls came crashing down once more. Mark already knew what was going to happen and already ran out of the hallway.

"Impaled by their own trap…" Mark mused. He then went back to Florina. "Alright, here's what we're going to do… carry May on top of your Pegasus and follow me. As a matter of fact… I don't think we have to go much farther!" Mark pointed at area beyond the mess of the fallen wall. There were stairs that led to a door.

"That must be the way out!" Florina cried with joy.

"Florina, Mark, is that you?" came a shout from beyond the fallen walls. Florina saw it was the others.

"So we've found you…" Mark said gladly. He was glad to know Lyn was alive and unscathed.

"Whoa… what a mess this is…" Matthew said, referring to all the debris in the air and ground caused by the destruction of so many walls.

"Lyn… I finally understand…" Mark said, pointing to May.

"I'm glad you do. But what are you going to do with her?" Lyn asked. She still didn't want her to die or anything, even though she tried to kill her. 'After all… she really does love Mark and she did all that just to try and get him to return the feelings…'

"We will see… But for now… Florina, Rath, and Matthew will take care of her…" Mark shared her feelings of May. He knew why she did all of that and he felt guilty. But he decided to take care of that later and deal with Baron first.

"Are you ready Lyn? It's just going to be you and me. I can still help you. My left arm is still capable of combat and while it isn't as strong as my right, it's still strong enough for this!" Mark proclaimed. Lyn nodded.

"But let me fight Baron! I've been waiting for this too long!" Lyn said passionately.

"Understood, I'll take care of anyone that tries to interfere. Now let's go!" Mark could almost feel the excitement pour out of Lyn. He only hoped she was ready…

They opened the door together and immediately came the ambush. 10 or so bandits attacked them at once. But Lyn simply dodged their slow attacks and slit the throats of the enemies. Mark did the same and cut the bandits apart from underneath them. They soon approached the end. A man lay sitting there on a seat that was fit for a king.

"So you made it… Useless buffoons! I knew I shouldn't have depended on them!" Baron vented. Baron was quite tall and had a silver axe on his right side and a sheathed silver sword on his left.

'Looks like he did a lot of looting to get those…' Mark thought to himself. 'He's a mercenary hero… I can tell by looking at him… Battle hardened indeed. Lyn will have to pull out all the stops in order to beat him. This will be the perfect test to see if Lyn is really capable of defeating Lundgren.'

"You… you're the one who killed my tribe while they were weak… Yes, I am Lyndis of the Lorca tribe! Why'd you do it?" Lyn asked, doing her best to restrain herself from doing something reckless.

"Heh, well, quite frankly, that was the reason. We knew how to take advantage of your tribe and we did! I didn't know there were survivors… Ha, perfect! You look quite pretty too…" Baron mused gleefully. Lyn couldn't hold it in anymore so she charged at him.

"Lyn…" Mark said, hoping she would be alright. Baron took out his two silver weapons and counter attacked. The two put on an amazing fight. Lyn managed to dodge most of Baron's axe blows and parried his sword strikes. The Mani Katti seemed to reflect the anger Lyn felt. Eventually Lyn got the upper hand and managed to cut Baron's right arm off.

Lyn had never felt so blood thirsty in her life. For the first time, she wanted to just carve someone's heart out and watch him bleed.

"Lyn…" Baron whimpered, dropping his silver axe that he held with his left hand. "You wouldn't hurt a defenseless man would you?"

"You killed my family while they were defenseless! I…" Lyn didn't know what to do. She really wanted to get revenge, but now she was on the verge of getting it, she felt as if she couldn't do it. Then, while Lyn's sword was down, Baron pulled out a knife and swung at Lyn. On instinct, Lyn held up her Mani Katti, and Baron ran right into it. The blade pierced his heart and killed him instantly.

"Lyn…" Mark came and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yes… Finally, I have my revenge…" She turned and embraced Mark. She started weeping with both happiness and sorrow. The door behind them opened again and everyone in Lyndis' Legion came and joined them.

The night air was quite refreshing in Mark's lungs. He entered May's tent, where she was still unconscious. 'Wow, my blow with the Gray Blade must have been quite hard…' He was still thinking that when May turned around, grabbed Mark, and pulled him into a headlock where her knife was at his throat.

"You taught me how to do that Mark…" May said with a slight hysteric edge to her voice. She cuddled close to Mark while dragging him up her bed.

"May… stop, I've talked with Lyn and she has agreed to forgive you," Mark told her. It was true, both Mark and Lyn decided that it was jealousy that drove her into doing those that she did, and they were willing to forgive her without an apology.

"Ah, of course, Lyn decides to forgive me so you follow her example…" May said in a way that actually scared Mark. It sounded as it she was calm and controlled, but Mark knew that she was losing it. May started to wrap a leg around him and taking off part of his cloak.

"May, what are you going to do?" Mark asked.

"If I can't have you in life, then we will be together in death!" May said smoothly as her dagger started to drive down Mark's chest and started going up towards the neck.

"May, I am sorry, but you have to understand… we were not meant for each other. Maybe during a future life or time, we will be together… For me, it is most likely Lyn, but I know that there is someone meant for you too."

"The only one I love is you! I can't think of anyone else!" May screamed.

"May… please… would you really want to kill me? After I saved you all those times, would you kill me?" Mark asked, trying desperately to stay May's hand.

"I… I just want to be by your side for the rest of my life…" May dropped the dagger and went into tears. "Forgive me! Don't leave me behind!" Mark turned and held her in his arms.

"Don't worry… I won't leave you… As I said before, both Lyn and I have already forgiven you," Mark comforted. But as fate would have it, Lyn decided to come in at that very moment. What she saw was both Mark and May embracing in bed with Mark's cloak on the floor. What she didn't see was the bloodied dagger on the floor. She also couldn't see the wound on Mark's chest due to the position he was in with May.

"Mark... I see how it is," Lyn said before marching out of the tent. Mark could see tears in her eyes.

"Lyn, wait!" Mark tried to stop her, but May was in the way holding him back.

"Wait, Mark. This is my fault… I will explain." With that, she left to go and tell Lyn the truth. She soon found Lyn by a set of bushes crying.

"Lyndis," May said soothingly.

"What do you want?" Lyn said, trying to hide her tears. "Seems like you managed to win in the end didn't you, you even get to see me in tears now, are you happy now?"

"…No."

"What?"

"You have to know this… I will never like you because you took Mark away from me. I won't forget that. But you are mistaken in this case. I can see now that Mark is truly in love with you and I can do no more than hope he will keep me as his loyal servant. What you saw was him trying to comfort me… not that…"

"You mean by comforting you in bed!" Lyn said sarcastically.

"No… I… I tried to kill him… but I decided not to and I broke down because I thought he was going to leave me even as a friend… But he said he wouldn't leave… Do you understand or not?" May was starting to get annoyed.

"I think so…" Lyn said confused.

"Good… Mark said I needn't apologize, but… either ways, I'm sorry." Lyn and May shared a nod and May left. Lyn went back to the tent Mark was.

"Mark, I'm sorry. I…" But Mark cut her off.

"No, stop. It's okay. We need to stop this… After all, we still have a ring to find!" Lyn nodded enthusiastically. She knew there really was nothing to be said. Mark understood her and she understood Mark. It was as simple as that.

Back in the fortress, they started searching for the ring.

'I'm sorry Lyn… but I couldn't tell you about this… yet.' Mark thought while he held up Ninis' Ring up to the moonlight. As he had expected, the energy of the ring attracted the Gray Blade, so he found it with ease.

"Yes… this confirms my suspicions. He tossed the ring back to the place he found it and left. It wasn't long before he left, that Matthew found a trail that lead him to the ring.

"Hey, I found it!" He said happily. As he returned to camp, he thought it was quite weird that when he entered to hidden chamber that it seemed as if someone else had been in there just lately.

When Nils and Ninian saw the ring, they were overjoyed.

"Ah, this is it! Thank you, every one of you!" Ninian exclaimed gratefully.

As everyone returned to their chambers, Mark went up to the two children and said with a meaningful tone: "That's a pretty remarkable ring… It's almost as if… it wasn't human made…" Then he left the wide eyed children and went to his tent.

**Author's Note:** So what did you think of that? Well, school's starting in a week, so sorry, but I won't be able to update very fast anymore! You may have to wait two weeks just for one chapter! Again, sorry! As for this one… please review and tell me what you think!


	14. Chapter 10: Underhanded Tactics

School is starting and I won't be able to update fast anymore… As a matter of fact, the next update may be in 3 weeks! Plus, for the title of this chapter, read the whole chapter before you decide what it means...

**The Gamer:** Hmm… interesting way to introduce Mark to Roy… What should I do when Mark meets Sophia? And thanks for pointing out my typo! Another thanks for the review!

**Some guy:** Yeah, school is so annoying… The mayor of my area wants to extend it by another two hours… That had better not happen! Thanks for reviewing!

**KiraYamato1: **Ah, it's good to hear from you again! I know the rest of your story will be great! Thanks for reviewing!

**Aweirdguy:** I actually thought about that when I wrote that chapter… I'll just make Wallace leave Caelin so he can 'hone' his skills or something… Either ways, thanks for reviewing!

**The Phoenix of Etruria:** Yes, I know… I tend to rush my chapters and overload everything, don't I? Most things you see in this story will have a purpose being there. I'll give you a hint; think back on Kent's thoughts two or three chapters ago. I put them there for a reason. Kent isn't out of the picture yet! Well, thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** Let's see if you are smart enough to know what comes here…

**The Battle Wizard Chap 10:**

**Underhanded Tactics**

The sounds of blades clashing rang through the forest as Lyn and May sparred with each other using wooden swords. Mark surveyed how each one of them used their skill and speed to hurt the opponent. May's fighting was very fast and it took a good eye to see how she was moving. However, Lyn's battle stances were very beautiful and looked she were one with her blade and they belonged in the lush forest around them.

'She looks as if she were dancing along the trees…' Mark thought to himself. 'The way she fuses with nature… She looks almost like Sophia. That brings me back to another subject… How on earth can she keep a secret like that without being found out by others! Unless… there's a whole village of them! But… that would be impossible. Someone would have found out about it! After this is over… I will search for you… I will see you again Sophia!' His thoughts were soon interrupted by Lyn, who had saw him thinking and found that he wasn't paying attention on the match.

"Mark, are you alright?" Lyn asked concerned. It wasn't often Mark stopped paying attention to a sparring match. 'Was my technique so awful that he decided to stop watching?' Lyn thought to herself.

"Huh, yeah, I'm alright. I was just… thinking…" Mark replied awkwardly. He immediately felt ashamed for thinking about another girl while he already had a perfectly fine woman in front of him.

"Are you sure, Mark?" May asked as well, thinking what on earth could divert Mark's attention from their fight.

"Yes… please don't question me about this again… I was thinking something private and that's that," Mark finished and walked away. 'I don't like to keep a secret like this… but everything must go as it was or else someone may go berserk and end up killing the children even if they were innocent… But what if they have evil intentions? No… I will trust Sophia… If they were bent on taking back the world again, I'm sure Sophia would have just left me for dead… I hope I'm right…'

"May, have you ever seen Mark seem so lost in thought before?" Lyn asked May. During the last four days, Lyn had gotten to know May better for who she was. They agreed on many things and got along much better now. Although May still does occasionally shy away from Lyn, and there was once where Lyn still saw a longing glance May gave to Mark. 'I feel so sad for her… She says she has gotten over Mark, but I can tell she still loves him a lot. I hope there will be a day where she will find someone just as wonderful.'

"Only when he's coming up with battle strategies before… Yet this time is different. I can see a bit of sadness in his eyes too… I have no clue what may be bothering him though," May replied. 'Lyn does care a lot for Mark; I can see she will treat Mark with care… Yet…' She left her thoughts at that and decided to walk to a nearby lake to take a bath.

Lyn was walking back to camp when she came across Mark's tent.

'No, I can't… But I really want to know what's bothering Mark. He won't tell me. He says he loves me and trusts me, yet he won't tell me what's wrong! It's so infuriating! That's it! I'm going in!' Lyn went against her better judgment and marched into his tent. She saw many organized books in a pile near the wall of the tent. She saw that they were on battle strategies. There were also a few sheets of bark on a small desk that had drawings of advanced sword techniques and one with a hand sketched drawing of Ninis' Grace. Yet there was another detailed painting that caught her attention. It was a rather large parchment that contained a drawing of a beautiful girl that had long hair that reached her feet. More notably was her sad expression on her face. On the bottom of the parchment was only one word: Sophia.

Near a lake that reflected the color of the pine trees, May was taking a bath in there. Yet she felt something was wrong. She looked around and saw a bush move.

'Odd… there was no breeze…' May thought to herself but did not dare get up to investigate for fear of someone seeing her naked.

Dorcas, Rath, and Wil hunting for food when they saw something move behind some nearby bushes, so they stopped and looked closely at what it was; yet it seemed to camouflage with the surrounding.

"I wonder what it is," Wil whispered to Rath, who remained silent as usual. Wil took out an arrow aimed at the figure. After he was sure he would hit, he shot the arrow. What came out of the strange green figure's mouth was unexpected.

"Hey, it almost sounds like Sain!" Wil remarked excitedly.

"……….It is Sain………." Rath replied indifferently. They saw as he ran around with a wound near his shoulder like he was going to die. He was quite lucky that he had his armor on, which prevented the arrow from hitting anywhere major. But his armor wasn't going to protect him from what happened next.

May had just resumed her bath when she saw Sain jump out of the bushes she had just turned back from. She immediately grabbed a towel to wrap herself in and grabbed her wooden sword.

Sain turned around just in time to see a beautiful figure in a towel beating him with a wooden sword. Sain ran around trying to dodge her blows and ran into a tree. While on the floor, May continued her beating.

"Ok Wil, I think we've seen enough," Dorcas said, dragging an open mouthed Wil back to camp. Rath followed silently along.

After two hours, May came back, fully clothed, dragging a badly beaten Sain and throwing him in front of Serra who started screaming as if she saw a monster. Lucius took out a holy book and started praying.

"Hey, I'm not going to heal him," May said nonchalantly, then left to get her lunch. Serra poked Sain with her staff to see if he was still alive.

Lyn was sitting on a log nearby when Florina came along and saw her.

"Lyn, you seem upset…" Florina asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh… yeah… it's just I have a lot on my mind. Like whether my grandpa is alright or not…" Lyn said, conveniently forgetting to mention Mark.

"Oh, well, that's what I thought as well. But you should be happier! It wouldn't be good for the other's morale if their leader were so upset," Florina reasoned. 'Lyn's hiding something… I've known her for years and I know that can't be the only thing that's making her upset…'

"Um yeah, of course, thanks for watching out for me! I'll try to be more confident from now on! Now let's go! We're almost there aren't we?" Lyn said with a fake smile on her face.

"Yes milady. It should be a week's journey to Caelin… assuming we don't run into any… distractions," Kent said professionally. He felt so guilty… even when he tried to hold it in, he couldn't help but think about her all the time. 'There is no hope for me… She loves Lord Mark, not me… Why? Why must I be in love with one that I am not to?'

"Thank you too Kent. You, Florina, and… Mark have always been there for me when I needed support. I will award you, all of you… when we see my grandfather in Caelin. Now let us proceed!" Lyn jumped off the rock and went back to camp to gather everyone and head back on trail. It made her heart jump when she saw Mark talking to Ninian. But Lyn ignored it and announced that everyone was to head back on the road and pack up.

"Please Lord Mark! Promise you will not tell anyone!" Ninian pleaded with Nils.

"Why? You will not tell me why you are here?" Mark shot back.

"We… we have problems of our own… As for this other 'woman' you speak of… We have never heard of her before. We have answered as many questions as we can. So please promise you won't tell Lady Lyn or anyone else our secret!"

"…Very well… If you promise us no harm… I will keep your secret," Mark said reluctantly.

"We promise… Thank you, Lord Mark," Ninian replied gratefully. 'How did he know our secret? We may look different than others, but surely that is not enough for someone to figure out what we are! Maybe it was the ring? I better hide it better from now on.'

As Lyn lead the group towards the direction of Caelin, Lyn noticed that one of the members was missing.

"Where did Matthew go?" Lyn asked, looking around for him. It was Mark who replied.

"Oh, I sent him to go gather some information on what's going on in Caelin. It would be nice if we got a good idea of what Lundgren is planning so we don't rush into the battlefield without some knowledge," Mark said. 'Wait, why is Lyn looking like that? She looks as if she wants to… slap me or something.'

"Good. That was smart thinking. I should have thought of that," Lyn said without looking at Mark.

"Uh… Lyn…" Mark started, but was interrupted by Ninian, who was red from limping on her ankle.

"Lady Lyn! Lord Mark… I sense a danger, get down, NOW!" Lyn got down when just barely, an arrow sailed through the air and hit where Lyn was standing only a second ago.

"What… What was that?" Lyn asked, not at all shaken, but curious.

"That must have been a ballista! It appears Lundgren is taking no chances!" Sain remarked.

"What's a ballista?" Lyn asked again.

"It's a weapon used in siege. It can only be operated by professional archers and can hit a target 50 yards away. The good thing is that it is not a very accurate weapon. It's odds of hitting a moving target is 1 to 5," Mark explained.

"I see. Alright then! I want everyone to move as much as possible on the battlefield, is that clear!" Lyn shouted. Everyone replied with a firm yes. "Florina… maybe you should sit this one out. You won't be much use to us in this one… I'm sorry."

"Don't worry Lyn! I'll wait until you take out the ballista. Then I'll join you!" After saying that, Florina retreated to the rear of the party.

"Alright, this is absolutely pathetic… People, this is going to be so easy, I'm not even going to give a second thought about this. I want Lucius, Erk, and Wil to take out the men that are approaching us right now while Lyn and May will protect them. As soon as they are taken out, I want Kent, Sain, and Rath to storm down and cut your opposition. It's as simple as that," Mark said carelessly.

"But sir, what about the ballista?" Kent asked mystified.

"You don't have to worry about that. The trees will provide shade for the long range fighters. As for you horseman, you will be moving all the time and therefore there is only a 2 percent chance you will get hit. And even if you do get hit, it won't be injured seriously. If you do, however, get medical help from Serra or use a vulnerary." Mark explained quickly. "Florina… I believe I see a reinforcement fortress down south. When the horseman take out the ballista, take out the reinforcements. Understood?" The party started to move out and attack.

Like Mark had predicted, the battle was nothing. The enemy foot soldiers relied on the ballista to bring down Lyn's Legion which was a big mistake since the arrows were far from their target. Wil was more frightened of the arrows aimed for Lucius than the ones aimed for him. Having experience from the previous battle in the woods with the Taliver, Wil knew just where to shoot and where to hide to dodge the arrows and kill the enemy.

Lucius, who only arrived at the end of the battle with the Taliver, was less experienced, but he was learning quickly. 'Ah, the poor souls that are dying… I couldn't bear the blood from the previous battle so I retreated… but not this time. I know Elimine would want me to help these kind people in succeeding in their goal. I must pray for these men after the battle is done... Maybe give them a burial too…' His thoughts were interrupted quickly when a mercenary approached him, but May put an end to him.

"You have to concentrate on the battle! I know you're a monk and everything, but you don't want to get killed do you?" May snapped. Then she left before Lucius could even mutter thanks.

"Must remember to thank her later…" Lucius said to himself.

Sain was plowing through enemies and soon reached the ballista.

"Take this!" Sain said before beheading the archer. 'I don't like this… Not one bit… The man I just killed. I recognize him from Caelin. He even talked to me once. Why do we have to fight with former comrades? This isn't right. Lundgren, I will make sure you will get what you deserve!' Sain thought to himself before seeing Florina approach. 'Ah, what a wondrous sight to see during a heart wrenching battle! I think I'll go woo her now…'

After the soldiers were killed and the only ones remaining were the leader and four of his henchmen, Wil took control of the ballista.

"Now Wil, do you see that big fat object over there?" Mark asked Wil.

"Um… yeah… is that a rock?" Wil asked nonplussed.

"Uh… no… that's the leader of the platoon we faced. Take aim and fire at him. He will be impaled upon his own weapon," Mark said gleefully in a way that scared Wil. But nevertheless, he took aim, and shot the big fat rock straight in the neck.

"Whoa! That was great aim! You got him right in the neck even from this distance! Wonderful!" Mark praised.

"It must have been luck!" Wil said modestly. He even blushed slightly at his tactician's comments. The other four men retreated, and Lyn's Legion won the battle.

"That was easier than expected! At least it was when we were up against more than 30 soldiers!" Sain remarked.

"Lord Mark?" came an enigmatic voice. Mark turned around to see that Matthew had returned.

"Matthew, it's good to see you have returned. What news have you brought to us?" Mark asked with anticipation.

"Ah, Lord Mark, I'm sure you'll be pleased if not glad!" Matthew said secretively.

"Alright, get on with it!" Lyn said, getting impatient. 'I don't understand, we could have just as easily gone to the village ourselves. Why did he send Matthew?' Lyn wondered suspiciously.

"Alright… alright… don't blow your top! Anyways, when I got to a nearby village, I saw that the people seemed a bit uneasy. None of them would talk to me… until I fed a coin to a hungry innkeeper. Apparently, Lundgren has been saying that the groups of people headed towards Caelin are a bunch of fakes and traitors."

"What? How dare they! Us? Traitors!" Sain said irately.

"And they say I'm a fake? That Lundgren! He's gone way too far now!" Lyn said furiously, vowing to bring Lundgren to justice.

"Wow, if you're that angry just because I said that, than I guess I should withdraw my other information…" Matthew said.

"More? Hurry up and spill it out!" Lyn said. 'What more could there possibly be?' She thought to herself.

"Well you see, it appears Lord Hausen of Caelin is being poisoned every day, and is now in a very critical condition. And as you can guess… Lundgren is the suspect. However, none oppose him for fear of their relatives or family members being executed by him… That is all I found out…" Matthew said, but not before shooting a curious glance at Mark. Something Lyn missed in her outrage.

"Impossible! I don't believe it! We have to get to Caelin and fast!" Lyn said furiously.

"Wait, we've been branded as traitors. If anyone else sees us, I'm afraid they will attempt to kill us without hesitation," Kent reasoned.

"But we can't just sit here and nothing while my grandfather is dying!" Lyn shouted. It hurt Kent to know that there was nothing he could do for his mistress.

"I have an idea," Mark said. "Eliwood is a very powerful member of the Lycian court being the son of the Marquess and all. If we could persuade him to convince the rest of Lycia to stay put, than we don't have to deal with this problem of other countries interfering. It will just be us and Lundgren. As for anyone else that stands in our way… Simple… We will crush them."

"I guess this is the only way… Eliwood said he was in Kathelet right? Well, I really don't want to waste time considering my grandpa may die any moment, but everyone is tired and I know it won't be any good to push on now that it's almost evening. So let's go and set up camp." Soon, Lyn and the others had staked out their territory and were eating dinner caught by Wil and Rath. Unfortunately for May, Sain was not considered dinner.

"Ah, mistress May… I have been looking for you ever since the battle. I have come to say thank you," Lucius said humbly.

"Oh, it's you. Um… I guess I should say you're welcome! Is that all you've come to see me for?" May asked politely; she respected monks more than most people did. 'Wow, he sure does look like a she…' May thought to herself despite that respect.

"I believe so… but other than that, I also have to say… You are so ruthless in battle… You and everyone else… Do you ever pray for your victims?"

"Pray for them? Ah, the fact that I look like a cleric gets people, doesn't it? I'm not. While I do feel sad for my victims, I don't pray for them. Doing so would make me feel sympathy for them. Mark has taught me that sympathy causes one to lose focus and eventually lose their life," May responded automatically.

"I see… Yes, I have heard of what your teacher has done… But maybe you should take time after battles to pray for them. This way, they will be able to rest in peace and you will be able to take some burden off your shoulders."

"Maybe… I've never really prayed for years… not since my parents died… I prayed for someone to save me… no one came… not for 2 years at least. Not until I met Mark," May said sadly. 'Why am I telling him this? The only other person to know was Mark… But his face… It looks so innocent and kind. It makes me want to tell him everything.'

"Ah… your parents are dead? So are mine… We have something in common now! Let's discuss this… some more!" Lucius said brightly.

"Really, you want to listen to me? Thank you! But it will have to wait… I have to train right now. Is that alright with you?…" It almost hurt May to say no to him.

"Hmm… very well, but will you pray for the dead souls now?"

"…Yes… I will. Until next time then…" May resumed her training while Lucius went back to his prayers. Meanwhile, Mark was talking to Matthew…

"Matthew… did you do what I asked you to do?" Mark asked. 'Here it comes…'

"Yep! I think I got some good news too!" Matthew replied happily as usual.

"Really! What did you find out?" Mark said as if he were an eight year old child that had just found a giant stash of sweets.

"Ha, I've never seen you so excited before! Tell me, who was this 'girl' you told me to find? Was she your lover? I don't think Lyn would be too happy if she were."

"Never mind who she was! What did you find out!" Mark asked, getting extremely impatient. 'I've been waiting to hear this for hours! Just couldn't get Lyn out of hearing distance. And now Matthew is teasing me!'

"Getting very impatient now, aren't you. Very well, I'll tell you. A local villager said she saw someone who matched the descriptions of the 'girl' you mentioned and saw her heading west. He wasn't sure, but he thinks she was headed towards Nabata desert. That was all I found out. But the villager did say that there was no mistake that the girl he saw was the one you described. He said that the sad expression was all he needed to recognize her."

"I see… Thank you Matthew, and don't forget our deal. Don't mention a word of this to Lyn. Is that clear?"

"As clear as the moon in the sky, I would think!" Matthew said, with the same happy expression that always made Mark believe he was planning something. Either ways, what Mark didn't know, was that Matthew didn't have to say anything. A heart broken Lyn was behind a nearby tree.

**Author's Note:** Maybe this should become May/Lucius! Of course, it wouldn't be intimate since Lucius is a very dedicated monk. As I have said many times before, school's here, so the next time I update will probably be in two weeks or more! Sorry! But nevertheless, please review!


	15. Chapter 11: Breaking Down

WARNING! WARNING! This chapter will contain slight self-injury! (I know, I'm becoming a very dramatic author aren't I?)

**The Gamer:** Thanks for reviewing! To answer your question, Mark's wound is not completely healed. He could move now, but it will still hurt and every time he fights, the wound will heal even more slowly. And don't worry, I won't forget about this fic!

**Aweirdguy:** Ha! I know, I tend to somewhat rush this story a lot! I'll try to slow it down some now. Anyways, it's not that I don't like school; it's just that I have a few AP classes and they are really getting on my nerves! Thanks for reviewing!

**Some Guy:** Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

**General of Lylat:** Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'll try and update faster now!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters. If you think I did, my characters in this fic wouldn't be so OOC.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 11:**

**Broken Down**

Mark sat by the inn door where he waited for Eliwood. It had been 3 days since he had met with him. It was also when Eliwood promised to come back with good news.

'I hope the boy succeeds… If the rest of Lycia decides to help Lundgren, we will have one hell of a time regaining Caelin. Speaking of Lyn, it seems almost as if she has been avoiding me for the past couple of days. I wonder why. I'll ask her why after Eliwood arrives.' Mark thought to himself.

Mark continued to wait and watched as time rolled by. Meanwhile, May was praying.

"So, how does it feel?" Lucius asked her. May got up from her kneeling position and faced him.

"Well… I must say, it does feel a bit better to confess… It feels as if a heavy load has lifted in my heart," May said serenely. 'It's true. I haven't felt so light in quite a while.'

"Ah, you see! So know will you do this more often?" Lucius asked, glad he was able to help.

"I… think… Yeah, I will… Thanks for helping me find myself again, Lucius."

"Ah, it was no problem! It is only my duty as a monk to do so!" Lucius said modestly.

"Either ways, thank you. But it may also be a good idea to go teach this to Mark also. I know him quite well after being by his side so long… I can see that all of this is getting to him. Mark… you know, he is actually a very kind guy… It's just that he's been though so much… He never told anyone either. I had to annoy this information out of Erk yesterday. Did you know that Mark is an orphan too?" May told Lucius sadly.

"He is? I… would never have known that… He doesn't show the pain, does he?" Lucius started praying until he was interrupted by someone who had been listening in on them.

"No, he doesn't." Lyn replied. "I don't know a single thing about him, do I?"

"My goodness, I did not see you there Lyn! How are you?" May said faking delight. 'Oops, this is bad. I should have looked around before I said anything. If she tells Mark, he'll be so angry!'

"Of course you didn't," Lyn said in a strange emotionless voice. Her eyes looked almost blank, which scared May quite a bit.

'She looks so thin… and so pale…' May thought.

"Lyn, have you… been eating properly lately?" May asked concerned.

"Eating?" Lyn asked, as if tasting the word itself. "Why would I eat?" Then Lyn walked away back into her room, leaving a puzzled Lucius and May.

"Mark, it is done." That was the first thing Eliwood said to him when he entered the room where Mark was patiently waiting for him.

"I see… I suppose that means you've succeeded in the task?" Mark asked.

"Yes. The Lycian League has promised to be neutral in the following events that will occur in Caelin. Unfortunately, that means that I will not be allowed to help you either… I was hoping I could aid you in your quest…"

"You have already aided us in more ways than possible. You have my deepest gratitude." Mark said truthfully. 'Shouldn't it be Lyn that's supposed to that?'

"It was nothing. I need to leave on a small errand my father gave to me earlier. It can't wait, so I must depart now. I wish you luck on the rest of your quest. Good bye." Eliwood went back on his horse and rode towards Laus.

"Ah, now that's been settled, we must continue towards Caelin before it's too late…" Mark went back to Lyn's room and told her the good news.

"Lyn… Are you even listening to me?" Mark asked after he had finished. All Lyn did was give him a ghostly stare. Mark was about to comment on that when Wil rushed into the room.

"Mark! Enemy troops are headed our way! We must defend ourselves!" Wil said urgently. Mark immediately forgot about Lyn and started coming up with battle strategies. After a few seconds, he left Lyn to command the Legion.

"He just left me… He doesn't care about me…" Lyn told herself before leaving for the battlefield.

"The fog is coming in! This is perfect! Mark!" Matthew called.

"What is it Matthew?" Mark asked.

"Send me out to scout information! It's in these types of weather that work best in!" Matthew declared arrogantly.

"Very well, I've just come up with a plan. Listen up everyone. Matthew will head north and gather information. If you find an enemy, slit his throat. I want you to find just how many we are up against, is that clear?" Mark ordered.

"Clear as usual!" Matthew said before jumping off into the misty surroundings.

"Alright, as for the rest of you, use this torch one of the locals gave me. It will light you way to the enemy. You see that bridge? Charge towards it and meet the enemy… Wait…" Mark stopped for all of a sudden, the earth started trembling. Through the fog, the Legion saw a large figure approach them.

"Is that a monster!" Sain shouted, hiding behind his horse, who in turn kicked him and ran.

"Sain, is that you? Yeah, it is you isn't it? The last time I saw you, you peed you pants thinking I was some bald headed demon!" the figure said heartily. Upon closer inspection, Mark found that the man was in his mid 40's and was wearing silver armor.

"General Wallace! Are… are you hear to oppose us?" Kent asked worried.

"Well, I don't know. Caelin has called upon me in my retirement to execute two traitors and a woman pretending to be Lady Madelyn's daughter," Wallace said candidly.

"General Wallace! Surely you don't believe us to be traitors!" Sain exclaimed, outraged.

"Well, bring the girl that claims to be Lyndis to me. I'll judge to see if she's the real deal or not!" Lyndis stepped out boldly and for the first time in three days, showed some light in her eyes.

"I am here! It is up to you whether to believe me or not!" Lyn proclaimed proudly.

"Ha, ha, ha, yes! You are her alright! I can tell by your eyes! They look exactly like your mother's! That's it! I'm joining your little brigade!" Wallace went towards them and spoke to Mark.

"Is… that it?" Lyn asked, puzzled.

"Yep, he's the same General Wallace we used to know and love!" Sain said.

"And fear!" Kent added. That made the whole legion laugh and Sain blush.

"So, I assume you're the leader, right." The way Wallace said it, was more like it was a comment instead of a question. Mark knew right away that he was going to be a valuable addition to the legion with his experience.

"Yes. You came just in time too. I need someone to go to that bridge and be a meat shield to draw the enemies forward. Can you do that?" Mark asked. But he already knew what the answer was going to be. Wallace laughed in a way that made Mark stand at the edge of his senses.

"Of course! Watch what happens next…" Wallace pulled out a Knight Crest from within his armor and held it up to the sky. The crest started to glow and surround Wallace with light. Then, when the light faded, everyone could see that Wallace had grown even taller and larger to become about 7 feet tall. "And you thought I was scary before, Sain!" Wallace started laughing in a way that shook the birds out of the trees. Then he started charging towards the bridge and the enemy near it.

"It's a monster!" The enemy shouted and ran for their lives. The foolish ones that stayed ended up with a lance through their hearts.

Wallace was so efficient at his kills that he was at the enemies' castle gates within 10 minutes of time.

The others were finishing off the remnants of the soldiers.

"Wow, I'm getting better aren't I?" Serra asked Erk annoyingly. Erk had learned to ignore her, which made her even angrier so she started pulling on Erk's hair to get his attention.

'Note to self, never ignore Serra again. Oh, wait, that's impossible…' Erk thought to himself in despair.

Nils was doing his best to play his flute as long as he could. It was his music that kept Lucius and May fighting the reinforcements that kept coming from all directions. Luckily, Matthew had seen them, so the Legion had a heads up at their coming. Dorcas was carefully guarding Ninian back at camp with Rath and Florina.

"EAGLER!" Wallace shouted out the name of the leader of the estate to challenge him to a duel. The shout caused the castle walls to vibrate. For a moment, Wil thought the walls itself was going to crumble.

"Wallace… so you made it here," Eagler said calmly. Mark could tell he was a loyal man to his lordship.

"Why do you do this? Come, you know Lundgren and his pack of lies. Join us and secure the throne for the rightful ruler of Caelin!"

"…I can't… Forgive me…" Eagler charged on his horse but Wallace managed to parry. Wallace sent a blow himself which instantly killed the horse. Eagler got up and charged again on foot. After a while, Eagler knew he was going to lose and threw a javelin at Wallace. But Wallace's armor was too hard for that and deflected the blow. Wallace then plunged his lance though the gut of Eagler.

"Ah… so our rivalry has ended… Go… the lord is still alive… Go now and you may rescue… our… lord…" Eagler fell and died.

"…It pained me to do that… But do it I had to…" Wallace mused.

"General Eagler…" Kent and Sain stood in front of his corpse and paid their tributes to him.

"What type of man was he?" Lyn asked.

"He was a great man milady… I bet that scoundrel held someone close to Eagler as a hostage to get him to do such a thing…" Kent said bitterly.

"…That Lundgren… I will get him… I promise I will…" After everyone came back, including Matthew, who confirmed Kent's theory of Eagler, the healers started to heal the wounds of those hurt in the skirmish. Lyn was just about to go to May when she decided to look at the wound she received during the battle. The blood looked so red… so pleasing…

"It hurts… but…" Lyn took a knife and opened the arm wound further. She knew she should stop, but something in her made her continue. 'The pressure… Mark… that girl… Sophia…' The thought of that made her mark another wound on her arm.

"Lyn, where are you?" Mark looked around and saw Lyn with her back turned.

At the voice of Mark, Lyn immediately dropped the knife and hid her arm under her sleeve.

"Yes Mark?" Lyn asked innocently.

"…What were you doing?" Mark asked suspiciously. He tried to get a better look at what she was hiding, but Lyn wouldn't let him.

"Nothing, why would you think I was doing something?"

"Well, you just looked so secretive… that's all…"

"Secretive? Well I think that you've been more secretive lately than I have," Lyn said sweetly. Those words made the hair on Marks neck stand.

'She couldn't have found out, could she? Impossible…' Mark decided to play it safe and back off.

"I was just worried, that's all. May told me that you looked thin."

"Oh, so May has to tell you in order for you to notice, huh!" Lyn asked, smiling dangerously. Mark had never been more scared at the moment.

"…" Mark couldn't think of anything to say.

"ANSWER ME!" Lyn took a deep breath and changed her tone. "Sorry about that… I was just a little… impatient, that's all… Well, I have to go… A wound of mine has broken open… Bye…" Lyn left Mark, whom was very puzzled at what had just happened.

Lyn made her way over to her tent at camp. 'That idiot, how could he be so insensitive!' The thought of that made Lyn break. She continued the slow cuts on her arm. She enjoyed every bit of the pain.

**Author's Note:** First we had a scary May, now we have a scary Lyn. Creepy. The next chapter will be a side chapter. (Obviously, since we can't have a scary Lyn for the rest of the story.) I'm sorry for the very long update. I am even sorrier for writing a chapter like this. I PROMISE the next chapter will be better and I promise it will contain more details about the other characters. This chapter was a bit… rushed, to say the least. Well, until then, please review!


	16. Chapter 11x: The Hardest Choice

Next chapter is up!

**Aweirdguy: **Guess I'll be explaining the hostage thing this chapter! I've tried to revise the last chapter, but decided to put that off until I finish Lyn's story. So by the time I start Eliwood's story, chapters 1, 2, and 11 will be revised. (Since I think those were my 'bad' chapters.) Thanks for reviewing!

**The Legend of Soul Emblem:** Good of you to make an account! And as I said in my reply, it's taking me longer to review because of school work. Anyways, thanks for putting me in your favorites and thanks also for the review!

**Of Icicles and Snowballs:** Self-injuring Lyn is indeed scary! Don't like May? I see. She has done some bad things before. Now it's up to Lucius to purify her! Maybe he can work on Mark in the process! Thanks for reviewing!

**The Gamer:** Mark will always be in trouble! And don't worry; Lyn can't stay in emo mode forever! Or can she? Wait, when I said I'd start Roy's story, I meant after I finish Eliwood's first! Or do you want me to start on Roy's and work on two stories at once? I wouldn't mind working on both, but it will mean longer updates for this one. Tell me what you think in your next review. As for now, enjoy the story and thanks for your reviews!

**DISCLAIMER:** I hope you don't think that the creators of Fire Emblem would put a self-injuring Lyn in an 'E' rated game!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 11x:**

**The Legendary Altar**

The final battle was approaching and May was going to make sure she was ready. She never felt lighter in her movements and never felt so happy for a very long time. But as she was going to get breakfast, she sensed something wrong. She looked to the floor and saw blood.

'Odd… I don't think I hurt myself during my morning training today…' May decided to follow where the blood seemed to lead. She followed it all the way to Lyn's tent.

"Hey, Lyn, have you cut yourself lately? There is a small trail of blood leading to your tent," May told Lyn, who was sitting on a tree stump looking stumped.

"Cut myself? Why would you say such a thing? Do I look like I would cut myself?! Do I?!" Lyn said, almost belligerently. May was a bit surprised, so she backed off.

'Somehow, this scenario seems familiar…' May thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Sain was following the trail of a rabbit that seemed to magically disappear every time Sain pounced on it.

"Hmm… how can I possibly catch a meal if that rabbit keeps jumping away?" Sain said furiously. That was when he noticed something very strange on the ground where the rabbit was previously on. Sain bent over and picked it up. "Is this an amulet? Well, I'll find out later! Maybe it's going to be worth a bit!"

"Sain, what are you doing here!" Kent asked as he approached him. He immediately caught sight of the amulet in Sain's hand. "Sain, what do you have in your hand?"

"What? You mean this? Oh, I found while trying to catch a very slippery rabbit…" Sain said proudly.

"Buffoon… Do you know what this is?" Kent shouted frustrated. He wanted to smack Sain for his stupidity. "This amulet belonged to General Eagler's daughter! Don't you remember her wearing it whenever she came during our training?"

"Oh… well, I was usually focusing on another part of her body… so… no, I don't remember…" Kent smacked Sain and then headed back to camp. When he got back, he immediately found Mark and told him about the situation.

"You know what this means don't you sir?" Kent asked in anticipation.

"Yes… Our suspicions have been confirmed. Eagler was forced to fight us… We must at least try to honor his memory and save his daughter!" Mark said solemnly.

"But how are we going to do that? Is there a trail we can at least follow?" Wil asked.

"I think I can take care of that…" Everyone turned to look at Lyn, whom had remained unusually quiet the whole time. "…We Sacaeans are best at tracking. Even if we have little to go on, we will find this hostage."

"Ah, how delightful! So much like a thief!" Matthew exclaimed.

"Then it is settled. Come we must make the most of our time… and hope no harm is done to the girl."

"Yes! Off we must go to rescue the fair lady!" Sain said enthusiastically. This, of course, just earned him a smart smack across the face by three different people. The one that landed extremely hard was the one made by Kent.

"Idiot… She's only 7! Have you become a pedophile or something?!" Kent shouted, outraged.

As the group soon found Lyn leading them towards a mountain side, Wil was chatting along loudly with Dorcas and Rath. After about 30 minutes, Wil finally found that they hadn't replied a single word the whole time.

"Hey, why aren't any of YOU talking?" Wil asked sternly.

"…" Rath said.

"…" Dorcas said.

"Hey, aren't any of you listening?!" Wil shouted in a shriek that could have matched Serra. Serra, of course, couldn't possibly bear any one over shouting her, so she started screaming too. The entire racket scared the birds out of trees, the rabbit's out of their hole, and broke a hole through the mountain.

'Wait… break a hole through a mountain? That does not add up…' Mark thought to himself.

"Come, we go investigate. Not even the combined shouts of Wil and Serra can do something like this…" Mark shouted to the rest of the group. The group was a bit skeptical on the latter part of that statement though.

"Hmm… I was wondering how the trail seemed to end at that wall…" Lyn muttered to herself. She longed for a battle where she could feel the excitement she wanted to feel for such a long time.

As the group made their way into the cave, they could feel the tension building inside. It was pretty well designed in Mark's opinion, mainly built to scare enemies that dared enter.

'I wonder what this cave was built for in the first place… It must have taken quite a bit of time… It's amazing that humans could have possibly imagined it.' But as Mark thought this, Ninian and Nils were sharing similar thoughts.

"Sister… could it be? Do you think…?" Nils asked her sister.

"Hush… I don't know, but let's not let this conversation stray too far…" Ninian said, alert that Mark was starting to suspect something.

Soon, the Legion got to the center. All they could have done was stare.

"This place is… so… breath taking." Lucius said in a way that summed up all the feelings that were shared in the room.

The room was huge. A center pathway stood to an altar that reached up to the peak of the mountain. On both sides of the pathway were waterfalls that were filled with the purest of water.

'When I get back to Master Pent, I'll be sure to tell him this…' Erk thought to himself.

What the group found next was quite shocking. On the pathway leading up to the altar, lay bodies of what seemed to be some of Lundgren's soldiers. The only person that was well was a girl about the age of 15 or so that sat asleep on top of the altar.

"That's Ellen! Eagler's daughter!" Sain barely managed to climb up to the altar before the ground started to shake. As Sain rushed down, they saw the opening back out was starting to close.

"Hurry! Make a run for it!" Wil shouted loudly.

The group started running at full speed. The wall was closing slowly, but at the distance they were at, making it out before the door shut was still a very thorny problem. While they were running, Lyn tripped and fell.

"Lyn!" Mark hurried to help her up. But the time wasted in that one move was enough for Mark to know that there wasn't enough time for Lyn and he to get out. So Mark did the only thing he could. "Lyn…" Mark grabbed her hand and tossed her towards the entrance with all his might.

'If I make it, Lyn will be safe… If I don't, Lyn will be an omelet…' Mark thought sardonically.

"Mark!!!" Lyn shouted even as she slid though the floor towards the entrance/exit. In the heart stopping moment, she barely managed to slide through. As she got to the other end, she immediately got up to see where Mark was. When she saw he wasn't there, she thought the worst. "No…"

The other whom were recovering, thought they all managed to get out and started celebrating. But they were cut short by Lyn.

"STOP! Don't you see who's missing? Mark! We… we have to find a way in… We have to see if he's alright," Lyn said with a slight hysterical edge to her voice.

"No… Lyn… I'm sure Mark would have wanted us to move on… If there is another way out, Mark will find it…" May said mournful.

Reluctantly, almost unwillingly, Lyn went slowly back to camp.

"This is all my fault, if I didn't trip… No…" Lyn started to correct herself as she saw the girl, Ellen start to stir. "It's HER fault!"

Erk and May sensed something wrong was about to happen. Their thoughts were confirmed when they saw Lyn approaching threateningly towards Jessica.

"Stop this at once!" came a commanding voice that froze all.

"So you finally spoke!" Wil said obliviously.

"Lyn, I know you are upset, but please don't blame yourself or any one else that is innocent. That is not the Sacaean way…" Rath said wisely. "If Mother Earth wishes Mark to join her, then she will take him. If not… he will find his way back to us." Erk nodded his agreement.

Lyn sighed and fell back in defeat.

Meanwhile, back in the cave, Mark was striking at the stone door with the Gray Blade with no visible result.

"Blast! Is there no other way to get out? Why do these caves always fall while I'm in them?" Mark thought. It had been nearly three hours since he had been in the cave, and he had long lost his patience.

"Maybe I should try finding out what this cave was used for first… Maybe that will help me find a way out!" Mark started to search around the cave for any writing or drawing of any kind. "The fact I didn't find anything in the first place probably means I won't find anything the second time…" Mark slumped on a nearby wall and started to fall asleep…

"Ellen, tell us… what happened at the temple. How did you survive while all those Lundgren henchman died? Share with us your experiences as you see fit," Kent asked her.

"Kent… well… Those men… they captured me when my father was away. They… forced my father to kill you… and she who was accused of pretending to be Lady Lyndis…" Ellen started. "They were taking me to a nearby prison in Kathelet when all of a sudden someone said that they found a treasure trove. They changed directions and made way to the altar you found me in. But all of a sudden, these people… if that was what they were… came out and attacked the Lundgren men and killed them all."

"But how did you survive?" Sain asked eagerly.

"Actually, I'm not sure. But I do know that the last thing I saw was a lavender haired woman that stood right in front of me…"

Mark was dreaming… Wait, no… Dreams didn't hurt like this. Mark was screaming in unbearable pain. But it all stopped as…

"Sophia…?" Mark saw a figure approach him in the temple. "Lavender hair… But the eyes… blue and red… not Sophia…"

The image was so vivid yet so it felt like a dream. There was a girl with lavender hair holding a black stone. The stone started glowing in a light that enveloped the girl. When the light faded, there was a huge purple dragon in place of her. Mark was drowned in a feeling of sorrow and sadness. Yet there was no fear…

While Mark was having this vision, there was someone else watching him. She went up to him and pulled him gently to the top of the altar.

"Lyn…?" The girl heard him mutter incoherently. She ignored it and sat him on top. The Gray Blade was reacting violently to her touch. If she were to unsheathe it, she would have died that instant.

"I'm sorry… to have caused you so much worry… But… you must… move on… it won't be long… before… you… have a mighty mission… to accomplish… And after that… another task… awaits… For two generation… you will fight…" the girl said mystically.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash and the area Mark was sitting around began to glow. A rune shape circle with a strange pattern surrounded him and the patterns on the Gray Blade started glowing with it. Mark barely managed to open his eyes before he was warped away from the cave. All he saw was a figure with long hair that nearly reached her feet.

Lyn was quite depressed. She made her way to her tent to "rest" as she told Kent. When she reached her tent she immediately took out her "special knife".

"Mark…" She started to cut herself when suddenly; a hand came out of the darkness and caught it in its grasp.

"Lyn… why?" The man said.

"…Mark? Is that you? Mark! I… I thought you were dead! I…" Lyn stuttered. Mark turned Lyn's arm around and examined it closely. He saw healed wounds in the candlelight.

"How long have you been doing this? Please answer…" Mark said sadly. 'Have I done something wrong? Wait, I have. But she couldn't possibly know about it!'

"I know what you have been doing. After all this time, you kept it from me, but I knew… Who's Sophia?" Lyn said casually. As if she didn't care. Mark was taken aback by her sudden question.

"What? Sophia? How… How did you know about her? Did Matthew tell you?" Mark asked frightfully. 'No… She couldn't have known… She doesn't know!' Mark tried to think of some other possibility, but the truth was obvious. He had caused Lyn to cut herself.

"I heard you… one day… when you were talking to him… So sneaky… How can I ever trust you? And that drawing… I can tell you put lots of effort into it. She's quite pretty… Have you ever tried drawing me? I didn't think so…" Lyn said without clear emotion.

"I… I… I couldn't tell you…" Mark said desperately. "I didn't know you well enough…"

"Didn't know me well enough? You said you loved me! How can you still make these excuses! You know… Rath would never do such a thing…" Lyn suggested threateningly.

"No please…" Mark called out frantically as Lyn started leaving. 'No, how could my plans end up like this? Wait… what were my plans? What was I hoping to do?'

"Mark," Lyn said as she reached the opening. "I don't even know why I would cut myself for you. It's not even worth it anymore." Then she walked out, leaving Mark to feel the cold evening breeze coming in through the opening.

'Lyn… or Sophia… I can't delay this any longer… I must decide now.' Mark thought to himself firmly.

**Author's Note:** I've made Mark seem so evil… Alright, tell me your opinions now. Who is it you want. I cast my vote for Sophia. Now it's your turn. I know that you've told me what you thought before, but now that the story has progressed, I want to know how you feel now. (To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure who's going to get who.) And also, tell me whether you want me to start Roy's story after I finish Lyn's story next chapter and write it along with Eliwood's story or just continue Eliwood's story. And if you have any other ideas for pairings, add that too. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think!!!


	17. Chapter 12: The End of the Beginning

I had this written four days ago! But because of problems, I had to wait this long to submit it! Oh well... This is the final chapter to Lyn's story! Whew… it's going to be a long one! As for your votes, check out my review replies!

**The Gamer:** (undecided, Eliwood/Ninian) LOL! An error I made that I somehow missed after my rewrite! I changed it. Yeah, the girl is Idoun. As for the altar… I'm surprised that you of all people cannot figure out! I won't spoil it yet though… unless someone else figures it out. Secret shops? Don't tell me you missed the one in Chapter 16! Well… I think the last secret shop where you can actually get a Hero's Crest is Chapter 21. Hope the info helps!

**Me:** (Mark/Lyn) Thanks for both your opinion as well as your review! Why is Mark after Lyn? Try and find out this chapter!

**KiraYamato1: **(Mark/Lyn) Thanks for the encouragement! I personally can't wait for your own next chapter!

**Lord Destroyer:** (Mark/Lyn) Wow, Mark and Lyn sure is popular… Thanks for the review!

**The Legend of Soul Emblem:** (Mark/Lyn) The temple is NOT the place where the Sword of Seals is kept. But good guess! You were very close. And yeah, my chapters are pretty short. But from this chapter on, I promise my chapters will be much longer! Thanks for the review! (BTW, it's Ellen.)

**Aweirdguy:** (Mark/Sophia) Don't worry, the last part of the last chapter was meant to basically convey the message that Lyn doesn't think Mark is worth cutting herself over now. Yeah… Mark is a complete idiot when it comes to his 'feelings'. Thanks for the review!

**omegaprime001:** (Mark/Sophia) YES! Finally, someone that agrees with me completely! Unfortunately… we are outnumbered greatly. Yeah… as for an English version of FE6… Unfortunately there is no legal way to get one. (Unless ROMs are legal, but I highly doubt that!) I never understood why Japan simply won't translate it! They could make so much money like that! Well, thanks for reviewing!

**General of Lylat:** (Mark/Lyn) That is a pretty good idea, and I'll probably do it later in the story. Or I'll just kill off Lyn in Roy's story and let Mark be with Sophia in 20 years. JUST KIDDING! Or am I? I bet I'm scaring you right now so I'll stop. Thanks for the review!

**Of Icicles and Snowballs:** (Mark/Lyn, Sophia/Rei) Wow…such a long review! LOL! Lyn only left a small trail of blood. It wasn't like she was pouring buckets of blood everywhere she went! As for the temple… again, that temple is NOT the Shrine of Seals. That one is in Bern. I was laughing for about a minute after reading your statement about Mark's painting of Sophia! You're right, I've made my 'tactician' seriously disturbed. Well, thanks for you're review!

**Nightmare70:** (Mark/Lyn) My goodness… Another Mark/Lyn… Came in late too! Oh well… thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER: **Yes! I can finally get to the story! Screw the disclaimer!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 12:**

**The End of the Beginning**

Mark had a dream that night. It was extremely vivid. The scary thing was that it didn't feel like a dream…

"_Ah… Lyn!" Mark cried out joyously after a long time of wandering in a void that was slowly driving him insane. Lyn turned around and stared at him with a cold look. From behind her, Rath suddenly materialized out of the darkness. He wrapped his arm around Lyn and caressed her face. She enjoyed it._

_A pain aroused in Mark. He felt just like he did a few weeks ago when Lyn had that crush on Rath. He wanted to pull out his Gray Blade and slash him to bits. But then, Natalie appeared also and he was reminded of her words._

"_Mark… I have grown accustomed to my leg as it was a childhood problem. I admit that it took me a while and that I didn't really have anything that was as important as what you're doing… but I can tell that you're used to being the powerful one. It will take time for you to get your brain to recognize that you are no longer as powerful, but it will happen eventually, so relax. And also, you are young. You are not as experienced about love as Dorcas and I, but you will," Natalie said with a knowing look. "To shorten it all, you don't know everything yet, so don't push yourself too hard, and don't get overconfident."_

_The words bounced around Mark before finally sinking in. _

"_I've hurt her… I don't know if I can make it up to her… I… I don't know what I'm going to do. But first… I must find Sophia… Maybe that will close up this void and tell me what I should do… Until then, I'll be nice to Lyn, but I still can't say I love her. Why did I like her in the first place?"_

Despite everything that has happened as of late, he knew that the best way to make it up to Lyn was to fight a winning battle. He prepared all of his equipment which included the Gray Blade, a vulnerary, and an extra Shine tome Lucius gave him. He knew it probably had something to do with May. He looked around to see what everyone was doing and to make sure everyone was ready for the battle. As he looked farther south, he could see Castle Caelin above all the trees.

Lyn had a hard time sleeping last night.

"Mark… why… Do you love this Sophia more than me? Now that I think about it… What do I really know about you?" Lyn said out loud, yet still keeping her eyes on the castle. "After this battle, will you leave and search for her?"

Meanwhile, May was still attending to Ellen. She had the unfortunate duty to explain to Ellen exactly what happened to her father. After she told her what happened, Ellen started crying 5 hours straight on May's shoulder.

"What do I do now? I have no where to go… My mother died giving birth to me… Now my father has died trying to protect me… What do I do?" Ellen asked May with desperation in her eyes.

"…I… I've wanted to tell Mark that I wanted to leave for a while… but I haven't yet… I was going to tell him today. You see, my parents are also dead and… during a meditation with Lucius yesterday, I remembered that my grandmother lives in Bern! I've never met her, but I've heard stories about her from my mother when she was still alive. I was wondering… I would like company during this journey and if you want, you can come along too!" May said hopefully.

"You want me to come? Yes, take me with you!" With that, she sank deeper into May's arms. In each other, they found solace.

'I just hope Mark won't take this badly. But it's not like he'll need me after this battle…' May thought worried. 'I've already told Lucius. He's wished me luck on my journey to Bern, but I won't be able to go happily until I get Mark's approval.'

The Legion was still heading south until they saw Mark's hand go up.

"What is it?" Sain asked.

"Haha, the enemy has set a trap!" Wallace replied, holding up his steel lance high. "Come out! Old Wallace knows your tricks, for it was I who taught them to you!"

Immediately, three archers came out from the cover of the terrain and started shooting arrows at the Legion. A few soldiers also came out from behind. Lyn, Kent, and Sain reacted by blocking the arrows from hitting their comrades while Wil, Erk, and Lucius made quick work of the foot soldiers. Wallace stabbed his lance through one of the archers and Mark sliced the rest in a graceful stroke.

"Ha! It looks like Lundgren decided to start far!" Wallace said excitedly.

"Yep, that coward! I can't wait to get a piece of him!" Sain said just as gleefully.

"NO!" Lyn shouted, scaring Sain out of his wits. "Leave Lundgren to ME! All you have to do is cover for me and make sure no one else interferes!"

"Ah… of… of course Lady Lyn," Sain muttered terrified.

They soon proceeded to the bridge. One of the many they needed to cross in order to enter the castle. Two soldiers came out of the river and threw javelins at Lyn. After Lyn blocked the shots, Wil came from behind and shot one of them while Rath took the other. In any normal condition, Mark would have been very angry the fact that Rath took the shot to save Lyn before he could have done anything. But for the first time, Mark didn't feel anything. Lyn looked at Mark with a questioning look showing that she too expected a look of jealousy from him. Mark turned around again and moved on.

After reaching a village near the castle, Nils ran up to Mark in a panic.

"Mark! Bandits hired by Lundgren are headed this way! And there's more! I feel that it is about to rain!"

Mark looked up and saw clouds rapidly approaching the castle.

"That's not good. If the rain comes, then our uselessness will increase further," Kent remarked calmly.

'You've been less useless than you think.' Mark thought to himself, thinking about all the times he's been calm in near hopeless situations. 'As for the bandits… we will deal with them… How you've made so many people suffer just to get the throne of Caelin… I will not let you hurt innocent villagers as well!'

"The rain will hinder us a bit, but we must proceed. I will stop the bandits. I don't need any help," Mark said. "As a matter of fact, I may be able to destroy these bandits so fast, I may be able to see Lundgren fall as well!"

"But… I sense there are at least 20 bandits headed this way!" Nils said, looking at Mark as if he had just lost all common sense.

"Relax. This rain will help me more than hinder me. Just do your jobs and you'll do great. Kent, I'm leaving the job of command to you."

"Me sir? Are you sure about this?"

"Of course. You'll make a fine tactician for Caelin! This will be your training!" Mark said with so much enthusiasm that Kent almost didn't recognize him.

"Then I, Kent, thank you for your confidence…" Kent said almost grimly. Kent led the way for the Legion to take the castle. Although Kent did see Lyn turn her head around and watch Mark as he headed into the village.

'What if… what if this is the last time I see him? Wait… That's what he wants! He's going to leave right after he defeats those bandits! I'm never going to see him again! I have to go back!' Lyn thought desperately. 'But… I… I have to rescue my grandfather.'

'Lyn… I… Goodbye.' Mark thought as he walked into the village gates.

It wasn't long before the rain began to hinder the progress of the Legion. It was also when the horses began to slow down when archers and soldiers of Lundgren charged them at full force. There must have been at least 30 of them.

"Alright, here goes. Lucius, Erk, Rath, Wil take position yourselves at different directions and take down the foot soldiers!" Kent ordered.

As the archers and the magic users began to cut down some of the approaching men, Kent and Sain charged at the archers before they could shoot. Dorcas went up to one of them and with the force of his axe, blew off the archer's legs. Lyn, with her graceful motions, started slicing any moving target. It wasn't long before the river started turning red. Soon heavily armored knights started approaching them at a slow but deadly pace. They threw javelins at Lyn while hiding behind their thick armor and their huge shields. The magic users were a bit nervous at the thought that they might have to approach that.

"I'll take care of that," Dorcas said quietly. He charged into the square formation of the knights and with his strength, broke the formation. Nils started to play his flute though the sound of the rain. With a force unseen before, the Legion once again charged towards the castle with renewed vigor.

It was at the gates of Caelin where Lyn finally met Lundgren face to face.

Mark, on the other hand easily dismantled mediocre bandits. With his Shine tomb, he had killed off half of the bandits before they finally arrived before him. Within 2 minutes, the rest were meat for the worms.

"Ah… you have saved our village!" An elder woman said just as Mark was about to leave Caelin for good. "Here, please take this. It's a special Energy Ring! It's rumored to give strength to whomever that wears it."

"Really… Thank you madam. I appreciate it," Mark said with a smile.

'Well, now to leave. I'm sure Lyn's doing fine against Lundgren. After all, she has the Mani Katti. But what if she isn't?' Mark thought. He looked at the Energy Ring once more, and knew what to do.

Meanwhile, Lyn confronted Lundgren…

"You… It was you that caused me so much trouble… Your treason ends here!" Lyn rushed forward to charge Lundgren but he was much faster than she thought. He pulled back and grabbed a Silver Lance off the wall.

"Ha… So you're Hausen's daughter, huh? You have caused me a significant amount of trouble… You talk about treason? HA! The Marquess of Caelin cannot commit treason!" With that, Lundgren charged forward to stab at Lyn, but Lyn was also faster than Lundgren had thought. Lyn bounced off Lundgren's lance and struck him from behind. Lundgren was injured slightly, but not even close to dead.

"Not bad… But even if you win today, it will all be futile! Your grandfather is DEAD!" Lyn stood there in shock.

"No… he can't be dead… He was my only…" Lundgren, seeing the perfect opportunity to strike, lunged forward. Lyn only stared. She was snapped out of her glaze when she saw a grey light flash before her and deflect the Silver Lance away. In the light's place, stood an orange ring. Lyn bent down and picked up the ring. In a daze, she wore it. Immediately, strength poured into her body. She heard someone whisper something into her ear, but when she turned around, no one was there.

"Strike now." Was what she made out to be said.

Lyn grabbed her Mani Katti and poured all of her emotions into the blade. When the blade was glowing white, Lyn charged at Lundgren with all her might and swung. Lundgren tried to block, but the force of the blade was so great, it broke through the lance and split Lundgren in half. The battle was finally over. Lyn had won. In fatigue, she fell down to her knees.

'Grandfather…' she thought sadly as the rest of the Legion minus Mark came to congratulate her. But she also saw someone else she didn't recognize.

"Excuse me, but I assume you are Lady Lyndis?" He said in a formal manner.

"What? Yes, but who are you?"

"Please, come with me, your grandfather is waiting." At that Lyn immediately jumped to her feet.

'So my grandfather is alive! That bastard lied!'

Lyn was led into a dark room with only a small curtain as light. There was an old, fragile man lying on a bed nearby.

"Grandfather?" Lyn said unsurely.

"Hmm? Who dares call me 'grandfather'? Are you another one of those imposters Lundgren has sent? Hmph, don't bother," Lord Hausen turned away as he said this.

"Grandfather, it's me, Lyn!" Lyn was near the point of tears. The poison had really taken its toll on her grandfather. Lord Hausen decided to turn back around and examine she who claimed to be her granddaughter.

"My… You look just like Madelyn… You are Lyn!" Lord Hausen tried to get up but had much trouble doing so. Lyn hurried to his side and carefully helped him up.

"Ah… Thank the gods… They have let this old sack of bones see his grandchild before he meets Elimine…" Hausen said peacefully.

"Wait, grandpa! Don't die! I've fought so hard to see you again! The best healer of Caelin will be here to see that you're okay! Don't quit now! I've yet to tell you about my adventures! I've yet to tell you the feel of the Sacaean plains!" Lyn cried desperately. By now, she was in tears.

"Ah… that sounds nice…"

"It is! Once you're better, I'll show you the same plains that my mother fell in love with! Please… just don't die…"

"Yes… I won't die. I will see the plains Madelyn loved so much…" Lord Hausen tightened his grip on Lyn, determined not to meet his end before it really was his time.

After the healers had checked up on the old lord and assured her that he would be fine with rest, Lyn left the room to let him sleep. She left the castle to see the sunset. She was startled to see someone already there.

"Mark!" Lyn rushed up to him and gave him a big embrace. "I… I thought you left me for good!" She tightened her grip on him as if to never let go.

"…I was going to… but decided to leave you a present first… Did you like the ring I gave you?" Mark said with a genuine smile. Something Lyn had not seen from him in a long time.

"Ah… yes. You saved me with it… Thank you so much…" Lyn said, admiring him with sparkling eyes. "But… you're going to leave now aren't you? To find that Sophia…"

"Lyn… I must find her. I must close up this void in my heart. I must see her one last time. But do understand that… I WILL be back! And I will be in your embrace once more," Mark said determinedly.

"Yes, you will be back. Until then, keep this as a reminder that you will always be welcome here in Caelin and that… I will be waiting." Lyn went forward and kissed Mark on the lips and watched him depart, knowing that she will she him again someday.

The next day, Lyn's Legion gathered one last time before departing.

"Well, my duty has finally been put to rest. NO MORE SERRA!!! HAHAHAHA!" Erk shouted with joy before hearing the dreaded voice.

"Erky poo! Did I hear you call me?"

Lucius said his goodbyes with Lyn and May before departing west towards Etruria.

Dorcas headed the opposite way to meet his wife in Caelin.

Rath had disappeared before any body could say goodbye.

Wallace also left, saying something about finally being able to fulfill his dreams of being a farmer.

May, whom had talked to Mark before he left the night before, took Ellen and left towards Bern.

"Well, that's it huh? I guess… I should leave too…" Florina said depressed.

"What? What are you talking about? You're staying here! With Wil, Sain, and Kent!" Lyn said happily.

"What? Did I hear my name? Do you mean I can join too?" Wil said uncertainly.

"Well… you have no where else to go right? All of you are welcome to stay!" Everyone shouted in joy at that. As they were celebrating, Lyn looked up towards the sky and wondered where Mark was.

**Author's Note:** I've finally finished Lyn's story! Yay!!! So what did you think about the ending? Hope you liked it! (Come on, you Mark/Sophia lovers, give me some reviews!) How would you feel if I said that Lyn was going to die in Roy's story so that Mark could be with Sophia? Yes, I know your answers. You will put me on a crucifix due to your blind anger! Well, happy Thanksgiving everyone! BTW, a good song that I believe would probably match this chapter is "Far Away" by Nickelback. I also found that previous chapters with 'emo' Lyn matched with a song by Three Days Grace called "I Hate Everything". It's amazing how there are songs that seem to match the mood of each chapter!


	18. Chapter 13: Friends Old and New

Finally… we have arrived at Eliwood's story…

**The Gamer:** Aww… sorry I was too late… Your review… is a bit disorganized… LOL! Yeah, well, I had was supposed to have Dorcas's wife escorted to Caelin for the celebration, but forgot to add that! Sorry! I will change that as soon as I find the time to change it! As for how I will use Marcus… That is a very good question… Well, thanks for reviewing!

**General of Lylat:** Wait… I actually said I was going to do Eliwood's story first… But alright! Because you want Roy's story, I'll submit a little teaser! But that's it! I won't update Roy's story until I finish this one… unless I change my mind. :D Thanks for the review! (Runs away as Lylat chases me around with knife)

**The Legend of Soul Emblem:** May's grandmother… Yep, you know her! (Or should…) It's going to be a surprise though… BTW, you're not going to see May again for a LONG time! But you hate her, don't you? So I guess that's good news for you. Thanks for reviewing!

**Aweirdguy:** Haha, nice eye! I intended the ring to be a sign of something! Thanks for the review! (And yes, you endorse Mark/Sophia whether you want to or not.)

**Lord Destroyer:** Hmm… I think I will do Mark/Lyn. But whether Lyn survives the next story or not… Lyn was never supposed to survive. I'll think about it. But still, thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem or any of its characters… I PWN THEM!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 13:**

**Friends Old and New**

It was a long night, but he made it. The moment he arrived at his room, he collapsed on the first bed he saw, not even bothering to take off his green cloak and boots. It was 3 hours past midnight, and the man was afraid that he would never be able to rest. But as fate would have it, the peace wouldn't last…

The green cloaked man awoke to hear metal clashing and people screaming. He looked out the window of the inn to see men with axes crashing into houses and stealing nearly anything that wasn't tied to the ground.

'Odd, where are the knights of Pherae? It's pretty unusual to have common mountain bandits raiding a village so close to the city-state… Better check this out…' The man thought to himself.

The bandits were at the lobby, stealing food, gold, and even wooden chairs. There was only a handful of resistance. One was a man on a horse carrying the symbol of Pherae.

"At least now I know there's some sort of aid from Pherae… What's with his hair? How does he see through that bush?" the green cloaked man said out loud to himself. This drew the attention of a nearby bandit.

"Hey, who do you think you are?! Run, scream, cry!" The bandit said, drawing his iron axe. He was met by an arrow to the throat from behind. The green cloaked man looked beyond the corpse to see a green haired country girl with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She looked as if she had never seen violence of this extent. Two bandits were heading towards her, but she was still looking at the dead body of the man she had shot.

The green cloaked man took out a concealed iron blade and quickly killed a bandit near him and then jumped towards the girl. As he had expected, the girl ducked at seeing the man jump towards her so quickly. The bandits whom did not anticipate this were easily slaughtered.

Green Cloak took the girl's hand and dragged her urgently outside. He spun the blade around him and injured three nearby bandits with the weight of the iron blade. The horseman finished them off with his own iron sword.

"Hurry! Get on! The bandits are closing the gate of the village! We're going to be surrounded!" The horseman shouted over the racket.

"But my father! He's the magistrate of the village! He's still trapped inside his office! I have to help him!" The young archer started running towards the office when Green Cloak silently grabbed the collar of her shirt and nearly threw her into the horseman. He kicked the horse in the rear so that it started running past the gate in frenzy. He then got onto a nearby horse himself and joined the horseman and the girl in their flight.

As they rode out the gate, Green Cloak could see the beauty of the countryside surrounding the village. It was a perfect pastoral field that was not unlike that of Sacae, with calm winds blowing the lush green grass.

The girl was struggling against the horseman furiously. She nearly knocked both the horseman and herself off the horse.

"Calm down. You don't stand a chance against all those men. They'll kill you or do worse. We are not running away. We are merely making a strategic retreat in order to gather more forces to combat the bandits." Green Cloak stated, as if it were an obvious fact. That stopped the girl from struggling. All was quiet except for the galloping sound of the horses moving east, towards Pherae.

"Well, my name is Lowen and I am a knight of Pherae. May I ask the name of you young lass, and you, traveler…" the horseman said noting Green Cloak's attire.

"I see… my name is Mark, and as you have said, I am a traveler… but I am also a tactician…" This was where Mark would also have added 'Behind-kicking God' to his profile, but he felt a bit empty without his Gray Blade. With it, he had felt so powerful, but without it, he lost a huge portion of his magical ability and a bit of his strength, but still retained his intuition, and his brain. 'Sophia… you had better take good care of it…' he thought with near bitterness.

After a while of silence, the girl finally perked up and said sullenly, "My name is Rebecca… I'm the village magistrate's daughter. I am skilled when it comes to archery. My father will be okay, right?"

"Of course, after we'll rescue him after we get help from the other knights of Pherae." Mark assured. 'I have lost strength… but I have gained compassion. A worthy trade.' Mark thought happily. 'Maybe Sophia was right about… it…"

"Um… I hate to interrupt like this… but…" Lowen stuttered nervously. Mark looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" Mark asked.

"Um… we aren't exactly going to get help from the Pherae knights…"

"…What?"

"Um… you haven't heard? The Pherae knights seemed to have all… disappeared…"

"Disappeared… I see… What does that mean?"

"Um… almost all of them vanished alongside our Lord Elbert a while ago…"

"Oh, ok. So… where are we going again?"

"…To LORD ELIWOOD!"

"………"

They rode a while before looking back and noticing that they were being silently followed by the bandits.

"Darn! We've been followed!" Rebecca shouted.

"That's obvious… But yeah, you are correct. They obviously don't understand that we aren't running, but actually getting reinforcements!" Lowen exclaimed happily.

"Hmm… yes… we will have to warn that village over there before all else though. Or else they will be the ones caught in the middle of this…" Mark commented.

"You're right! Then to the village we ride!"

'This knight is obviously a novice… He is unable to control his emotions very well. But nevertheless, every bit of help will be needed if we are to rescue the villagers from those ruffians…' Mark contemplated.

As they arrived at the village, they saw two fighters waiting at the gate. One had a hand axe and threw it at Lowen, but he managed to dodge it. Before he could retaliate though, Mark stopped him for he had recognized one of the two fighters.

"Dorcas! It is I! Mark!" The burly man seemed to be stunned for a bit but soon recovered.

"Mark!" Dorcas crushed Mark in a grip that was suitable for a 6"4, 285 pound man.

"Dorcas, what are you doing here? How is Natalie? And who is your partner here?" Mark flooded Dorcas with question after he had recovered his breath.

"Ah, dear Natalie is doing fine… I actually set out to get more money for her leg. Don't worry; I have not paired up with those goons again. I have decided to accomplish my goals this time by protecting the poor! And my partner here… his name is Bartre! He has a wish to aid Lord Eliwood after discovering that his father has gone missing."

"Correct! Me have desire to aid little Elbert in helping big Elbert!" The fighter said clumsily. He looked wild and had wild grin on his face.

"Don't worry Mark; he is always this way when he is blood thirsty. He will return to 'normal' after he… calms down a bit," informed Dorcas after watching Bartre repeatedly chase Lowen with his axe.

"Ok… Dorcas, Bartre, here's the plan! Both of you shall wait right here and ambush the bandits heading towards us right now as Lowen, Rebecca, and I ride to Eliwood to inform him of the events taking place right now. Ok?" Mark asked.

"Hehehe… me fine with plan!" Bartre responded.

The group headed towards the direction of where Eliwood was and finally reached it.

"Lord Eliwood! Sir Marcus!" Lowen rushed towards the two and eventually tripped over a rock.

"Lowen… what is it that I have been telling you for the last three years? A knight must be calm at all times. Now Lowen, calm down and tell us what is wrong," a knight in his early 40's told Lowen. Mark assumed he must be the 'Sir Marcus' Lowen was shouting about everywhere.

Mark was still thinking about how there were basically only 2 people that were actually 'reinforcements' when he had expected at least 6 people. Thankfully, there was still Dorcas and Bartre to help. Mark started focusing on the situation with Eliwood when Rebecca was being introduced to Eliwood.

"Please help our village! My father… I don't even know if he's still alive!"

"Don't worry, miss… I promise I will help your village…" Eliwood was telling Rebecca before his gaze went up to that of Mark's.

"Mark? Mark! It's good to see you again! It's been a while hasn't it? What are you doing here?" Eliwood greeted warmly.

"Ah, Eliwood… It's been a year hasn't it… Well, I've been here and there… And well, it appears I have arrived at your doorstep!" Mark said merrily in a Matthew like manner.

"I see…" Eliwood was about to continue before Lowen interrupted.

"Lord Eliwood, do you know him?"

"Haha, of course! He and I were acquainted during the Caelin incident last year! If it weren't for him, Lady Lyndis may not have survived that incident. Now… to save the village… Mark, guide us as you did for Lyn's Legion!" Eliwood exclaimed.

"Very well, let's go."

Together Mark, Eliwood, Marcus, Lowen, and Rebecca joined Dorcas and Bartre in the battle with the bandits. Soon, Mark discovered that most of the bandits were coming from the mountains to the Northwest region of the area.

This led Mark to order Marcus to fight the enemy reinforcements so the rest of the group could fight without worrying about more people coming. He decided to send Marcus alone since he decided that Marcus made a good meat shield. He may have been in his forties, but Mark had to admit he was quite skilled with the lance and the sword. His silver lance must have impaled at least 5 enemies in less than 3 minutes.

Eliwood, on the other hand, seemed to be in constant trouble and had to be rescued by Bartre quite a few times. 'He has to learn. He's got the potential.' Mark thought to himself. 'Maybe I'll teach him a bit myself if I can find the time…'

The archers were all taken care of by Mark, whom had lots of experience in dealing with long range fighters.

Rebecca had been particularly fierce in her battles. She shot her arrows without mercy and rushed as far as she could towards her village. She soon reached the leader.

"Haha, so a lass thinks she can defeat me?! Dream on!" the bandit said confidently. Rebecca answered with an arrow to his chest. However, the axe man was a bit stronger than she expected and her arrow was deflected by the bandit's axe. The bandit was going to counter attack but the axe shot was countered by the might of Mark's iron blade.

"Try again." Mark said calmly.

Rebecca strung another arrow on her bow and aimed again. This time, she steadied her hand to aim for the bandit's throat, which was unprotected. She hit the mark and Lowen finished him off. Together, the three charged into the village killing off as many bandits as they possibly could before Marcus, Eliwood, Dorcas, and Bartre could come and finish them off. They arrived by the magistrate's door in no time. Mark and Marcus shared a look of mutual respect when they saw each other again right outside the village as Eliwood was preparing to leave.

"Mark… I'm sure by now you have heard what Marcus and I plan to do… Will you aid us, or do you another event you must attend to?" Eliwood asked Mark with a look of sincerity in his eyes.

"I think I'll tag along with you for a while. After all, Dorcas, Bartre, and Lowen are planning to go with you aren't they? There, it has been decided," Mark responded. But as he said this, he looked towards the village. A deep instinct told him that they were going to have another recruit very soon…

"Father, let me go!" Rebecca complained.

"And where do you think you'll be going young lady?"

"I…I want to join Lord Eliwood on his mission! This is my chance to learn and see the world… And who knows… I may even meet up with Brother again…" Rebecca argued.

"Ah… I can't argue with you… just like your mother you are…"

"Father… I don't mean to hurt you… but it's just that there is so much to learn out there… And even if I won't be of too much use to Lord Eliwood, I can still try! And that's good enough in my opinion!" Rebecca said passionately.

"Very well Rebecca. Go… Just return to me in one piece. And take this… as well."

"This… it's a Dragonshield! Thank you father! I promise I will return safe and sound. Goodbye father!" And with that, she left her village to catch up with Eliwood and the rest of the group.

However, she soon got lost and couldn't find her way to them.

'Oh great… now I'm lost, what do I do now?'

"Ha! I knew you'll be catching up soon!" came a voice from near the bushes.

"Huh? Mark? That you?"

"Yep! I knew you would follow! Now come! We have to catch up to Lord Eliwood! I stayed here just to get you!"

"Really? Thanks!" Rebecca meant it too. She felt warmer than ever. She almost felt as if she had a new brother to replace the one she lost years ago. The same one who deserted her to find his 'fortune'.

Mark also felt quite warm. He had always been lonely being the only child, and had always begged his mother for a sibling. (Not knowing how a sibling is created.) He was quite embarrassed when Lady Louise gave him the 'talk'.

Both of them ran towards the sunset to catch up with Lord Eliwood and the others, with a shining hope in their hearts that their loneliness would soon end.

**Author's Note:** So how was that? I hope it was good! I personally liked that chapter! (And more will be said about the Gray Blade later.) Leave a review and tell me what you think! (By the way, KiraYamato1, did you watch the Eragon movie? If you did, tell me what you think of it!) Well… Happy Holidays to everyone! Consider this my Christmas present to everyone!


	19. Chapter 14: Family is Important

Took me long enough… but I've updated…

**Aweirdguy: **Wow, so you've never played FE 6? Ok, that means I must sue you. Sue. And yeah… My explanations will come everywhere in the story! Although I'm having trouble deciding what to do next for the story…I can still tell you one thing. I will add every character from the game to this story. It may not be the chapter they were supposed to be in… but they'll appear! Thanks for reviewing!

**Lord Destroyer:** I think I've already replied to your review in a PM. But for everyone else that does not understand… I really don't want to explain again… If you don't understand what I've been saying for the past couple of chapter… Keep reading until you do. Nevertheless… Thanks for the review!

**The Gamer: **Haha, yeah, I knew where the Dragonshield came from! I just did that because I felt it would be better for the story. There will be other things in the story that will be different from the game. But they won't be major. And for your reviews… Don't worry! Write them as you wish! Thanks a bunch for your review!

**The Legend of Soul Emblem:** Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, I spent more effort on my previous chapter than any other! And yeah, Bartre will only be stupid when he's "feeling excited". As for Rebecca… Well, her relationship with Mark is only like a sister/brother relationship! I feel Mark needs a family figure to take care of, or be with. But it won't be romantic! As for what happened to the Gray Blade… As you said… You'll find out!

**DISCLAIMER:** Fire Emblem would be so much better if I owned it. But it's already good enough!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 14:**

**Family is Important**

Castle Ostia

The blue-haired man crawled suspiciously on the floor. He looked around the hallway and got up. He "quietly" walked towards the doorway but his heavy metal armor clamoring canceled out the effect. As he got out the first of many doorways, he yelled:

"Yes! Freedom!"

"Sir Hector, I don't think it wise to yell 'freedom' when you still have hundreds of doorways to cross." A man in a red cloak said in an amused fashion.

"Gah! Matthew! How did you find me? Did my brother send you?"

"…It wasn't hard to find you… You may as well have walked through the front door naked. It would have attracted less attention…"

"W-what? Nonsense Matthew! I managed to sneak out the first gate unnoticed by any guards!" Hector said indignantly.

"One, there weren't any guards near the first gate. Two, we did hear you about a mile away. Three, you're an idiot to think you can leave the Lycia's strongest fortress unnoticed," Matthew said in a tone that annoyed Hector to a great extent.

"Grrr… I swear… you… You're not coming!" Hector said childishly, unable to come up with anything else.

"Too bad! Lord Uther told me to follow you, and you can't do anything about it!" Matthew said, delighted. Hector was red with rage by now.

"YOU!!! I'll show you!!! Come here! Guards, help me out!" Hector said when all Matthew did was jump around. He was so fast, that before he knew it, Matthew disappeared without a trace, leaving Hector all alone.

"No Matthew… No guards… Wait a moment… Am I missing something? Nah…" Hector thought to himself, foolishly reassuring to himself that nothing was wrong.

It wasn't long before men everywhere jumped out of everywhere and started hitting Hector around everywhere. Hector quickly swung his Wolf Beil and scattered the enemy and cutting apart those that were unfortunate enough to get hit. He was so confident that he scared them all off, that he did not notice a certain spearman soldier sneaking behind him. The only thing Hector heard was a slash noise to which he turned around to investigate. All he saw was a body lying on the floor.

"Are you that slow, Lord Hector?" A voice said from behind. Hector turned around again to see Matthew's cocky grin.

"What are you doing here? Wait… Where are all the guards?" Hector said confused.

"Hah! Well, our spies have long told us about a possible assassination attempt on you so Uther made me keep an eye on you… And well… those sneaky assassins would never have attacked you until you were alone, right?" Matthew said in a fake, humble tone.

"You… you almost had me killed!"

"Ah… so the big axe-man admits that I saved him… What a day! I'll remember it for the rest of my life!" Matthew hurried out of sight again before Hector could decapitate him.

"I'll get you!" Hector ran forward at full speed through the entrances, swinging his axe around like a berserker. By the time he reached the entrance, he had knocked out two heavily armored knights, an archer, and 3 foot soldiers. "Alright now… Where are you Matthew…? Come out! I just want to say hi!" Hector was huffing at the effort after running and fighting all those men.

"Hmm… How did you make it here so fast?" Said a voice behind him.

"Matthew? Is that… Oh, it's another one of you. Well, come on over here! I don't have all day! I have to catch up to Matthew sooner or later!" Hector shouted carelessly.

"Hmph, so the lord of Ostia decides to leave the castle to go on a knightly romance. Is that it? Well… I, Wire, hired assassin of the Black Fang…" But before he managed to finish, Hector had already taken out his Hand Axe and thrown it directly into the chest of Wire.

"Damn idiot talks too much!" Hector said before seeing Matthew again right next to him. "What in the world!!!" Hector jumped and landed on his behind.

"So… I guess this will mean we continue?"

"You sly little… Grr… Let's go…"

"Ha! This is the most amazing day of my life! Not only have I heard you admit that I saved your life, but now you let me come with you after all I did to you! Amazing, now let's head off into the wild and do what you gotta do!" He rushed off quickly with Hector chasing him blindly.

Meanwhile…

"So… has he gone yet?" Lord Uther of Ostia asked his loyal knight and attendant.

"Yes milord, he has gone off. Should we give chase?"

"Haha, no Oswin… you know him just as well as I do… Drag him off here and he'll find someway to escape… Yet… Oswin… I want you to go. Go aid Hector in his journey to find Elbert…" Uther coughed immediately after he finished his sentence.

"What? But what about you milord? Your condition…"

"My condition will never recover until I know my brother is safe. You, Oswin, have served me better than anyone I know. I trust you with this task."

"Yes… milord…"

'Lord Hector is all Lord Uther has left… I must protect young Hector with everything I have… Family is important.' Oswin thought to himself as he left the private room only to discover himself face to face with a pink-haired demon(ness).

Somewhere Outside Pherae

"Father… Where are you? Are you still alive? Mother is waiting… I am waiting… Now I am searching…" Mark watched as Eliwood talked to himself outside with the full moon shining down upon them. Eliwood was not aware Mark was watching, for Mark was sitting on a thick branch of a tree a short distance from the rock Eliwood was sitting on.

'The boy's been mumbling to himself for over half an hour now… I would comfort him… but… I have to remember what Sophia said… I'm a boy too…' Mark smiled at the memory of him next to Sophia, doing much like what Eliwood was doing… 'It's so much better to cry next to woman… It was the first time I dared cry since…' Mark quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. One of those reasons being guilt. 'Oh god… what would Lyn think?! But… it's not like it was an intimate scene! I was just crying… on another woman's shoulders… My god…" Mark nearly fell off the tree at the thought of unfaithfulness. 'And I fell asleep… on her shoulders… Oh goodness, I slept with another woman!' Mark fell off the branch.

Eliwood was still mumbling to himself when a ballista sized object fell on him. "Mark? What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Uhh… not much… Just enjoying the view!" Mark said happily. 'Along with thoughts of…' Mark fainted.

Half an hour later…

"Mark! Mark! Are you alright?" A green haired girl shadowed over him with a look of concern.

"Lyn? Wait… no, not Lyn… Girl has freckles…" Mark slured. "What happened, Rebecca?"

"Well, Eliwood dragged you here, literally. He had this indignant look on his face and you were mumbling: 'I'm not Sain.'

"Oh… I better go apologize to him…"

"Wait! You can't just leave right now! I demand that you tell me what happened!" Rebecca snapped, reminding Mark of a nagging mother.

"Oh… uh… well… I kinda dropped in on Eliwood at the wrong time…"

"I see…" Rebecca said in a tone that obviously implied disbelief.

"Well, sorry mother! Didn't think you'd still care!" Mark said in a playful tone… Or at least it was supposed to be playful. He knew it was the wrong thing to do after he saw that Rebecca had tears in her eyes. "What is it?" Mark asked tenderly, only to see that Rebecca was in full tears now. Mark had no clue what to do.

"My… my mother is dead… My brother is… missing… All I have is… my father!" Rebecca sobbed. Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"You've got me as well," Mark said kindly. "It's the same with me. Except… I've got no father either."

Rebecca looked up at him. They sat there comforting each other. About an hour later, they fell asleep together knowing that in the dark, lonely world, they had each other.

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know… It's been about 6 weeks and all I can come up with is this short measly chapter… But I had to get rid of this Hector thing somehow! (And as you can see, I don't like Hector.) Plus I had finals! The point is... I'm still alive. Anyways, what did you think of this chapter? We finally get to see the human side of Mark! This chapter would go along perfectly with that song "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King. I personally liked the mood of this chapter. Anyways, I noticed my number of reviews is lessening! Oh well… I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be longer and will definitely come faster! Please read, review, and enjoy!


	20. Chapter 15: Experience

Yep, this took a while. For all of you reading this, thank you for your patience… Don't worry; I will NOT abandon this story!

**The Gamer:** Ah, thank you. Again, you have not failed to review a chapter! Yeah, I know about Sophia's little cameo. Haha, well, let's just say that when Mark fell, he fell forward. His last name? Well, he is the nameless tactician… for now. Again… thank you every much for reviewing once again!

**Blazer227:** Hahaha, thank you! I appreciate the review! Enjoy this chapter!

**Knives91:** Wow… thank you! Worry not. I will keep writing until this story has a proper ending! Thank you very much for your review!

**General of Lylat:** Haha, yeah, that review took a while! Haha, but I'm happy you did eventually! Rivalry? Well… it appears that green-haired ladies are attracted to Mark. But in Rebecca's case, it's a brother/sister relationship. However, that doesn't mean Lyn will take it that way! Plus, when one knows how it feels to have a close one leave, they cling harder to the ones that they still have! Viruses? Yeah, I know what you mean. Have you tried Norton or McAfee? Anyways, thanks for the review!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Fire Emblem. I own the Battle Wizard.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 15:**

**Experience **

Castle Santaruz

"Eliwood? What? He's coming?" Marquess Santaruz asked. 'No… Not Eliwood… The dear boy…'

"…Yes… Eliwood has set camp up on a hill south of here…" a black clad man answered. A hood covered his face so not a bit of him can be seen except for his mouth and nose with part of his cheek. Yet even under his hood, one could feel his eyes… his golden eyes… "His intensions are unclear… but I expect that he wishes to seek an audience with you…"

"…Could it be… that Eliwood has come to ask of his father? I… I don't know what to tell him..."

"Tell him… you know nothing. And let him be on his way."

"But… I know young Eliwood well. His father, Elbert, and I are old friends. I… I have no children of my own… Eliwood… I've always seen him as the closest thing I have to a child! I can not lie to him. I cannot." For the first time, the old Marquess looked up… straight into the eyes of the black clad man.

"Then we have no choice… We must drive the child away… You need not speak with him… You need not tell any lies…"

"W-What?? Do you mean to harm Eliwood???"

"Not harm… Frighten. A scratch or two will leave no scars… He will run home to Pherae and that will be the end of that little adventure…" At that Marquess Santaruz could hear the man's voice almost light up in delight. It sent shivers down the Marquess.

"………" Despite all efforts, all words Marquess Santaruz wanted to say were stuck in his throat. He resigned to closing his eyes and collapsing into his small throne.

On a hill south of Santaruz

"Ah… I see… You wish for Lord Eliwood to talk with Marquess Santaruz and see whether he knows anything?" Marcus asked Mark.

"Yes. If these maps are correct, then it will be most likely that Lord Elbert at some time must have crossed these hills on his way to his meeting to Ostia. And since Lord Eliwood tells me that his father was good friends with the Marquess… There is a high probability that Elbert entered through Santaruz and spoke with the Marquess at some point." Mark explained.

Eliwood was next to Marcus, listening to the plan. 'Marquess Santaruz… He's like a second father to me. It will be pleasant to see him once more. I haven't seen him for over a year! My mother has been strong this entire time, patiently waiting for my father's return. I promised her on my leave of Pherae… I promised…'

"_Mother... I guess it's time to take my leave."_

"_Eliwood… please… just return to me safely. I… I can't… I wouldn't be able to stand losing both Elbert AND you…"_

"_Mother… I will return… with father… alive and well."_

"Mark… I cannot express to you how happy I am to have you with us. I hope your success with Lady Lyndis will reflect in our journey…" Eliwood told Mark. Looking him in the eye.

"Hm… I will do my absolute best. But now… what do you think of the plan?"

"Huh… Oh! Yes, the plan… Well, I agree with Marcus. It's logical and easy. We will ride at once!"

"Hmm… It's nice to be enthusiastic… but don't get too… carried away… Besides, I'm not done talking!"

"Huh… oh… oh… yes of course! Please continue!"

"…Yes, as I was saying, another benefit of going to Santaruz is the fact that we may be able to persuade the Marquess to lend us a guard force for our journey. With only a small force of 7, we will not be able to do much… Besides, think about it. Elbert, a stalwart paladin, would not fall easily. And to top that off, half of the strongest knights in all Pherae disappeared with him! There must be foul play in that. Now… who in dear Elibe would have possibly accomplished such a difficult task… No, Dorcas, don't look at me. The point is, we would be much safer traveling with a greater number. The forces that managed to do whatever they did to Lord Elbert must have been strong… I have a suspicion that the…" But Mark couldn't finish for two men had approached them.

"Ah… alms for a poor man, please…" The bigger one with an axe said.

'Very poor indeed, maybe he should sell that sharp, steel axe of his for money.' Mark thought to himself.

"Ah of course…" Eliwood started.

'Dang, are you kidding me? Are you that naïve? God I hope you're just joking…' Mark thought. He wasn't surprised when Eliwood actually started to walk into the man's path, taking out 500 gold. After Mark shared a bewildered look with Marcus, Marcus took action and immediately stepped between Eliwood and the two axe-men.

"Dastard! Move out of our way or you'll taste my blade!" Marcus drew out his steel sword. The axe-man, seeing he was at a disadvantage shrugged and backed away with a sly look in his eyes.

"Hahaha, not to be fooled eh? Very well! We'll do this the hard way! Men! Come out and earn your fill! This is the order of Zagan!" Men sprouted about from the hills behind him and also behind Eliwood. They blocked the only passage to Santaruz and the only passage of retreat.

"Hahaha… looks like they want to fight… Very well! We have no other choice!" Mark gathered the group to fight against the bandits/assassins.

"Well Mark… looks like it'll be just like old times, eh?" Dorcas said, taking out his heavy Steel Axe for battle. Mark chuckled at that before heading off towards the center to address everyone.

"Our objective is to clear the paths to Santaruz…" Mark said to the small group. "…Maybe by clearing out these bandits, we may earn the favor of the Marquess…" Mark said to Marcus on the side.

"Hm… but… this is odd… We are already on the border of Santaruz… the border guards should be able to spot us in trouble… why aren't they helping us?" Marcus whispered to Mark.

"Dorcus, you and Bartre will go clear the mountain path to our north. It is a very colorful territory… you mountain fighters are used to tough training… take a few vulneraries and head there immediately… Rebecca… cover them," Mark ordered as Rebecca skipped happily along with Dorcas and Bartre to the path. "Lowen… I would have you go too, but I'm afraid your horse won't like the terrain… Marcus, go warn the village to the southwestern area of the bandit threat. Eliwood, Lowen and I will take care of the path to Santaruz…"

"But Lord Mark… are you…" Marcus started.

"Marcus… this will be easy… Relax… I will take care of Lord Eliwood… Your horse is faster and will reach the village faster than any of us will be able too… Also… These bandits will be as easy as they come. The only thing that will be a bother to us will be their numbers... Marcus… these young ones… wait… WE young ones need experience. Those two have probably never seen the light of battle against such numbers before… This may be their only opportunity before facing off against even greater numbers, where they may be slaughtered without experience." Mark reasoned.

"Ah… I guess… Hahaha… excellent argument, Lord Mark! All of you… I take my leave…" Marcus said before riding off to the village. As he rode, Mark and his team were barraged with arrows.

"Archers to the north, sir!" Lowen reported.

'Well gee, I think that's a bit obvious…' Mark mumbled to himself. "Use your Javelin!" Mark ordered.

Lowen threw the javelin… missing by over three feet against the enemy 30 feet away. Meanwhile, the axe men were charging towards them by foot.

"Lowen, use your sword… Eliwood, you too! I'll take care of the archers!" Mark shouted as he charged quickly past the foot men, leaving the bandits confused.

Eliwood drew his rapier (something he should have done a long time ago, Mark noticed) and dodged a few shots from one of the axe man, then countered with two of his own, both hitting the bandit at his arms. Eliwood finally delivered the fatal shot by plunging his blade into the bandit's mid chest area, past the sternum.

Lowen charged his horse, swinging his sword left and right, managing to slice one bandit's arm off and injuring another.

Mark managed to deflect two arrows with his sword while dodging another. He jumped behind the archers to cut them up from behind. After he was finished with those archers however, he noticed two soldiers came rushing upon him.

"Wait… soldiers? I thought our enemies were bandits…" Mark nevertheless fought them and slit the throat of one while cutting off the leg of the other. Another three bandits tried to sneak up upon Mark. Mark managed to overcome his surprise to kill one. The other two were about to land blows on Mark, but by that time, Lowen had already come and beheaded one of them and then fended off the other. Eliwood eventually caught up and started a duel with a Pegasus knight…

"Wait… a Pegasus knight???" Mark looked up to see three more above in the air. "They must be mercenaries from Ilia…" One of them had flown off to the same village Marcus was heading for. "Marcus will be able to take care of it… I just hope he reaches there first…" The other two Pegasus knights, however, spotted Mark.

"Uh oh… they're armed with lances." Mark successfully managed to fend them off; however, because they were such high fliers, Mark was unable to land critical blows. 'I'll be fighting like this forever… I can't stay like this! Eliwood and Lowen may need my help.'

Mark dropped his sword and dived down to one of the dead archers, barely avoiding one of the lances of the knights. He took away one the dead archer's bows along with three of his arrows. He took aim and shot one of the knight's Pegasus straight through the left wing, bringing it down with it's rider. Then, out of nowhere, two axe men also approached Mark at the same time the other Pegasus knight prepared for another charge. Making a difficult decision, Mark shot the two arrows in quick succession and injured the two axe men.

"The Pegasus knight is too far away…" Mark said to himself, not seeing that the knight had just thrown a Javelin at him. Mark barely managed to ebb away, however, not without the shot grazing his right arm. Then an arrow appeared out of nowhere and brought the Pegasus down. "Rebecca! I thought I told you to go with the fighters!"

Rebecca responded with a loud slap across Mark's left cheek.

"You could have been killed!!!" Mark saw that tears were beginning to form in her eyes… Mark took her in his arms and comforted her. 'So this is what it's like to have a sister… Haha, she must have saw those Pegasus knights approach me and got worried…'

Eliwood and Lowen were still fighting the many axe-men approaching them.

"My goodness… there is no end to them! We need some sort of reinforcement…" Eliwood said to no one in particular…

On the border of Santaruz…

"Hey you! Yes, I'm talking to you!" A blue haired man shouted rudely to a border patrol guard on duty. "Why are you just standing there? Aren't you going to help them?"

"Huh? What? Do you know them or something?" The soldier began, but was quickly cut off both in terms of his words and his head.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry," the blue haired man said.

"Lord Hector… what have I been saying about such unnecessary violence?" the heavily armored knight of Ostia clucked.

"Oh Oswin… How can you say unnecessary? He was just standing there? I don't know about you, but I'm going to help Eliwood!" Hector said before rushing off. A pink-haired girl with a red-caped thief followed quickly.

"EWWWW…. I LOATHE violence!" the cleric said. "Don't you, Matthew?"

"Oh Elimine… why am I stuck with her again… Oh come now! Lord Hector specifically told us to wait behind!" Matthew said, watching Serra rushing off into the fray. "Dear, dear…"

"OY, Eliwood!" Hector shouted, cutting up anybody and anything in his sight with his Wolf Beil.

"Hector? Eliwood said in disbelief. Oswin had taken Eliwood's place in the battle and was now skillfully plunging his lance into many of the unfortunate bandits.

"ELIWOOD! How could you? How could you not tell me of your little journey here??" Hector bellowed.

"Um, well… let's wait until this battle is over… alright?"

"Hmph… very well, we'll talk later!" Hector yelled, charging forward, straight through the battlefield. Mark and Rebecca were watching. They were still embracing one another.

"That… man… he's so reckless…" Rebecca said wondrously.

"Hmm… his style is unorthodox… This shall lead me to hypothesize that his style is self-taught… " Mark answered.

"Self-taught? Ah… Mark… how do you know so much about war strategies and fighting styles?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"Well… um, how about I tell you tonight? This isn't the best place to have a conversation!"

"Ah… um, of course!" Rebecca replied.

Mark saw that Dorcas and Bartre were returning with Marcus.

"Mark… a man from the village gave me this," Marcus said immediately after he arrived, handing him a Secret Book. "He said that if one were to study from this, his skill would improve tremendously… I have no use for it as you would probably understand…"

"Hahaha, don't worry, Marcus! I know someone that probably does need it, however…" Mark said as his gaze wandered to a certain red-headed boy.

On Hector's Side of Things

"Ah… so who's next?" Hector shouted, after mowing through 5 of the bandits.

"What? Hmph, looks like if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself…" Zagan muttered. "Come boy! You'll die here!"

"What? Is that you talking? Hahaha, what have YOU been eating?" Hector taunted.

"WHY YOU LITTLE…" Zagan charged Hector with his Steel Axe drawn. Zagan brought his axe down upon Hector, barely missing him. Hector retaliated with a shot of his own, but Zagan used the forest terrain to his advantage and went out of sight.

"Grr… get out here!" Hector bellowed. He foolishly jumped right into the tree filled terrain, where he quickly got lost. Out of nowhere, Zagan popped out and managed to land a small blow on Hector's right shoulder. Hector pulled back in surprise and was about to retaliate when a knife went through Zagan's heart from behind. As Zagan collapsed, Hector could see a red caped man grinning behind him.

"Ma- Matthew! Wh- What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm saving YOU from your sheer stupidity!" Matthew said with his little grin.

"GRR, HOW DARE YOU…" Hector started.

"Hahaha, milord Hector… I think you should save your energy defending your self from Serra! Open wounds are her specialty after all…" And on cue, the pink-haired "cleric" jumped Hector with her Heal staff.

After Hector finally managed to get Serra off of him, he took both of them, with Oswin, to meet Eliwood and his group.

"Eliwood! It has been too long…"

"Hector… I want to thank you now… You saved me at quite a tight ordeal there!"

"Ah… Eliwood! I still haven't paid you back for that! From now on, we're joining you on your search!" Hector said, cutting into the chase. "Yes, yes, Ostian spies are quite good…" At that, Hector jerked his thumb towards Matthew. "This one is one of them…"

"Hahaha, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Eliwood…" Matthew said.

"…Hm… his fingers… seem quite nimble…" Eliwood muttered quietly. Only Hector and Matthew heard him.

"Ah… well, let's just say…" Matthew began.

"Oh Eliwood… you're the same as usual... look, during times like these… it would be best to… accept all the help we can get," Hector interrupted. "Anyways, back to the…" But at that moment, a spray of pink hair whacked Eliwood in the face.

"AND I'M SERRA! I'M A CLERIC!" She said.

"Um… yes, believe it or not… she's a… cleric…" Hector finished.

"Ah, Lord Eliwood… long time no see," Oswin followed.

"Ah, Oswin! Yes…" Eliwood started. "Look… I'm glad you could all come… Normally, I'd give better introduction… but we are in a hurry. As I'm sure all the rumors have long spread… My father is missing… and well… also… before the battle… that Zagan…" Then at that moment, Marcus put a hand on Eliwood's shoulder.

"Ah, milord… may I?"

"Uh.. ah, yes… of course…" Eliwood flustered. "I just wish I could finish a sen- ah, never mind."

"Old Marcus! It's been a while!" Hector said. Oswin stepped forward and the two knights shook hands.

"Yes it has… But more to the point, Before that battle, that bandit mentioned something about someone hunting our Lord Eliwood…" Marcus began… but was also interrupted… this time by Eliwood himself.

"Hector… that look on your face… are you alright? Do you know something that we don't?"

"Ah… well, they are just…. Well, Ostian spies have been reporting recently, that skilled bounty hunters… mercenaries… and knights have been disappearing from the realm… just like that," Hector snapped his fingers to make his emphasis. "Also, there is a skilled group of bounty hunters that make their base in Bern… The Black Fang… they have been on lose lately and have had very unsteady behavior for the past few years..."

"That is why we will travel with you from here on… To see you through this alive and well…" Oswin finished.

"Ah… in that case… I welcome your support! We are now headed to Santaruz… We shall rest for now… and ride again tomorrow!" Eliwood said.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! Mark!!! Is that really you?? It's been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LONG! Do you remember me? Of COURSE you remember me!" Serra shouted on the top of her lungs.

"……………..um… yes… I'm very…. Fortunate… to see you again, Serra."

"Ahh, hullo again, Mark!" Matthew said from behind.

"Yes… hahaha, I always knew there was more to you than met the eye! Haha, so you work for Ostia, eh?"

"Ah, my cover's been blow!" Matthew joked, acting as if he were heartbroke.

"Eh, who's this?" Hector and Oswin came in to the scene.

"Ah, Hector, Oswin, may I introduce you to our tactician… the one who makes our journey plans… his name is Mark," introduced Eliwood.

"Ah, so you are the one that commanded the fight back there eh? Heh, you know… you're quite young… we've got tacticians at Ostia too… but even the youngest is about 20… This is gonna be a tough ride… If you aren't up to it, then get out," Hector said, outspokenly.

"Hm… I can handle it." Mark replied. 'Quite a brazen fellow...'

"Hm… very well then, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"And here as well," Oswin nodded.

Six Hours Later at Camp

"…Mark… you there?" Rebecca called out. Mark was sitting by a bonfire. They had just finished their dinner and the sun had just set. The dinner Lowen had cooked for them was great. Mark had never thought that there could be so many things done to bread to make it taste better.

"Haha, yea, I'm right here. Is there anything I can do to help you, sister?" Rebecca blushed at the mention of that.

"How's your wound?" Rebecca asked.

"Haha, ah, it's doing great! Thanks for helping me wrap it up!" Mark said. It was a small wound that required application of a vulnerary or two. Mark could have gone up to Serra for help instead…. but he didn't.

"Ah, it was no problem…"

"Hahaha, what did you think of the battle today?" Mark asked, smiling.

"Ah… it was one of the most difficult battles I've ever been in…"

"Hahaha, indeed… but you must learn… there will be bigger battles ahead… I can feel it…"

"Hm… I'm ready! You'll see! I'm as tough as they come! I'll beat'em all!" Rebecca said fiercely.

"…Rebecca… Is there something on your mind? You look like you're thinking of some deep stuff…"

"Ah, well… I want to know more about you! You're my brother… and well, I never knew you could shoot an arrow that well!"

"Hahaha, true… not too many people actually know me well…"

"But I want to know more about you! I'm your sister!"

"Hahaha… very well… I'll give you… a small tale of how I learned to use the weapons I can… Here goes."

**Author's Notes:** Wow… Yeah… It's been a LONG time since I updated… Well, there you go! As you can probably tell… the next chapter will be a side chapter… again… hahaha, I know… I'm straying here… But I really hope you will all enjoy it. (Don't worry, it won't be JUST Mark… Haha, for the past couple of months (maybe more) I've been busy with AP classes and finals… Well… IT'S SUMMER! And I hope I'll be able to make up for lost time! You'll find that I'll be going into depth to a lot of characters also… not just Mark, Rebecca, and all the "Lord" characters! Anyways, thanks for reading! Please remember to review and tell me what you're all thinking!


	21. Chapter 15x: Love is a Beautiful Thing

Yeah… this update has come a bit faster than the others, eh? You know what I've noticed? People are beginning to update a lot faster on the Fire Emblem fanfiction area… There are about 5-7 new updates a day as opposed to about 3-5 before. That's good. I gotta keep up!

**General of Lylat:** Hahaha… yeah… I understand what you're saying about McAffe… but I don't really like the Symantec corporation either… so… Haha, I just use a separate brand altogether! Haha, thank you… yeah, I try to write the characters as I see them… I think I've learned my lesson after the Lyn incident of many chapters ago… Actually… maybe I haven't… seeing how Eliwood is, right now...Ah, yeah, pray for Mark! Lyn will 'kill'.  And don't worry… If I don't update by a designated time… I'll e-mail all of you guys a reason and a new time!

**The Gamer:** Ah, haha, I just re-read the chapter! And I see what you're saying! Yeah, Mark really does laugh too much! But believe it or not, that was based on me! Yes… I know… I laugh too much… Yeah, I remember your last trip to Japan! Well… enjoy the trip! (Maybe this time you can check out FE4: Genealogy of the Holy War.) Well, thanks for the review!

**Knives91:** Excellent… thou hunger shall be satiated!

**KiraYamato1:** Ah! You reviewed! Yay! I liked the new chapter of your own story… Haha, take your time! I know it'll be great… Thanks for reviewing!

**DISCLAIMER:** The following has been jacked from a Pepsi commercial… I am the CEO of Nintendo. DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER: BattleWiz88 is not rich. BattleWiz88 does not 'own' Nintendo or anything created by Nintendo… yet.

**The Battle Wizard Chap 15x:**

**Love is a Beautiful Thing**

"_Mark, dear… you're still reading that book?" Mark's mother asked him._

"_Ah, yes… I wanna write something like this some day!" Mark replied enthusiastically._

"_Ah, I'm sure you'll be able to someday when the abilities you have today build as you get older," Mark's mother told him._

"_Haha, yeah!" Mark said happily, after returning the Luce tomb back to his mother._

"_Hmm… there's a good boy… Why don't you show me that new sword style you've been practicing lately, son?"_

"_Ahh, yeah!" Mark grabbed a Slim Sword from a nearby stand and rushed up to his mother enthusiastically. "Heeeeeere!" _

_Mark performed some of the moves his father had taught him the past week. After finishing, Mark's entire body was sweaty and he was breathing heavily._

"…_Son… you should not try so hard… look, you face is covered in a pile of sweat… Son… why are you…?"_

"_It's nothing, mom. I want to show you my best, that's all," Mark turned around and left, dropping his Slim Sword deliberately to the ground._

"_Son…" Mark's mother sat up and followed Mark all the way to the castle gates. She kneeled down next to Mark and put her hand on his shoulders._

"_Mother… why doesn't the King promote Father? Dad's a thousand times stronger than that man who's the King's Knight General! If dad wanted to… If he wanted to… He can join that rebel group and probably overthrow the king himself!"_

"_S-Son! Don't say that! Your father… is a great man. He is willing to wait. And you should too. You're only ten years old and you're already speaking treason! If you want to be Knight General yourself, then train! And speak only when you have the steel to back it up!" Mark's mother scolded before walking of indignantly back in the castle, the two guards at the gate just staring. _

_Mark stormed to the training ground, staring at the weapons. _

'_So many types of weapons… I know how to use basic Light Magic… And I'm now learning how to use a sword…Maybe… I can spy on the castle guards and learn how to use a lance! And those archers… I'm pretty sure I can try my hand at shooting an arrow! I can also self-study anima magic… Maybe I'll be able to borrow dad's Excalibur tome? Then I'll be like my dad! I'll be able to use magic AND weapons! I'll be a knight… No… I'll be greater than ANY knight!'_

"And there you have it, Rebecca. That is how I started training… and how I learned to be what I am today… The skills I learned throughout my childhood have carried me through my worst times and have built me up till now," Mark said to Rebecca.

"Wow… So what you can do… You can cast all types of different spells and use all weapons?" Rebecca asked him, wide-eyed with admiration.

"Well, truth is… yes. However… I can't use all of them to great extent. My power lies with my past. Swords still remain my best bet against my enemies… and Light magic is still my most adapt form of magic…"

"But Mark… what about Dark Magic? I mean… you know how to use that to, right? How did you learn that? I heard that Etruria is based on bishops, clerics, mages… and sages. 'The Righteousness of Saint Elimine', or so I once heard from a storyteller that passed by our village when I was young."

"…Very perceptive, Rebecca. Elderly Black Magic… is indeed forbidden to be learned by anyone under 25 years of age… and by all means NOT considered appropriate to be learnt by an only son of such a great lord as my father…. As for how I learned it… It was… on a trip to Bern with my father… when I was 15 years old…"

"_Hmm? Who's that? Come out! Now!" Mark shouted. He was practicing his lancework when he saw the bushes shake… It was a windless night._

"_Heh heh heh… You wouldn't harm an old lady, would you? An elderly hermit of a lady came out of the bushes._

"_What… What on earth are you doing in their??? Who are you? This is the royal garden of Bern! I should report you to the Imperial Guards…" Mark said. In truth, he did not have any intentions to report her to anyone. He was just testing the waters._

"_Hehehe… My name is Niime… and I doubt you'll report me to anyone once I show you this…" From inside her coat, she pulled out a tome. It was a tome Mark had never seen before. But he recognized the design from "Different Tombs of Elibe", a book he had borrowed from the Etrurian library. _

"_It's… It's a dark magic tomb…" NOW Mark was considering turning her in to the guards. "What do you want?" Mark asked. His hands were in his pocket, fingers firmly on his concealed Aura tomb. Not that he could actually use it… but… _

"_Hehehe, I sense I curious mind behind that stern face of yours… Take it… You won't find it no matter where else you go back in Etruria… You're on a road trip… Enjoy it…" And with another cackle, Niime disappeared into the night._

_Mark picked up the tome and read the cover. 'Fenrir,' it read._

"_Mark… what are you doing?" A boy asked him from behind. Mark turned around to see that it was young Gale, a boy he had met as soon as Mark's father and Mark himself had arrived at Bern._

"_A-Ah, I was practicing my lance… um… you?" Mark said quickly, holding the tome behind him with both hands. Mark noticed that Gale, too, was holding something behind his back._

"_Oh, um, I was just… I was doing the same."_

"_R-Really?" 'So that's why he was holding that little javelin behind him.'_

"_Y-Yes. I want to be a great wyvern knight someday… And I won't become better by just standing here!" Gale said, determined. Gale was about 8 and half years younger than Mark. Yet there he was… holding a Javelin…_

'_I've long heard that the training of wyvern knights and their wyvern started when they were only 8… this boy's only 6… He's one determined child.' _

"_G-Gale?" A meek voice whispered over to Gale. Mark leaned sideways to see a little girl of perhaps 4 or at most 5 years of age._

"_Miledy! What are you doing here? You have a cold!" Gale scolded._

"_Gale… I'm sorry… I just saw that you were outside and wanted to see you and tell you… my mother just gave birth! And-And… I don't think she's going to… m-make it… I'm sorry," Miledy said, too stricken with emotions to even cry._

"_Gah… Ah, Miledy… No, don't apologize… I'm the one that should be sorry! Hurry! Let's go back," Gale said kindly, carrying her in his arms back to the palace. "Bye bye, Mark."_

"I was only fifteen… Fifteen… That was to be the only wonderful year I would have for another three years. Hahaha… what happened when I returned… Well…"

"What did happen?" Rebecca asked, not getting the subtle hint.

"My mom died… The last thing she ever gave me was that Aura tome. My dad… passed away due to his mysterious illness a month or two later. I completed my Gespenst research. I killed the murderers of my mother, home, and memories… I met Sophia. I traveled along the Western Isles. I joined an Ilian mercenary company………….. I met Lyn………. All in three years."

"Oh…" Rebecca uttered, silent, not knowing what to say. 'There's so much I don't know about him… Then again… what does he know about me…'

"I'm sorry for wandering Rebecca. I don't enjoy keeping secrets. You are my sister… and you WILL know more about me someday. Until then, however… please know… I would never purposely hurt you, or anyone else close to me. Never… Not anymore…"

"Yes, brother, I will trust you…" She laid her head on his lap and quickly fell asleep.

Mark's thoughts began to go towards his 19th birthday. And who he spent it with…

"_Sophia… We finally meet again…" Mark said, an exhausted look upon his face after climbing a hill so steep._

"_Mark…" Sophia uttered, her hair, ever so long, and her speech, ever so slurred._

_Mark watched her hair drag upon the soft Ilian snow as she walked towards him. Every inch of her figure blended in with the nature around her. Very much like Ninian… and Nils. It was not just the snow… It didn't matter where they were. What scene they were in, the three of them just seemed to fuse with the life around them… so different from human beings._

"_Sophia… I figured it out. I understand."_

"…_Your heart… I can see… it… The darkness… is… gone… but not… destroyed… There is… one thing… hurting… you… One thing…killing you… One Thing…breaking you…Let me take…away…the pain…I shall…soothe…your soul…I shall…prepare…you…The true battle…is yet to come…"_

"I wonder how Lord Pent and Lady Louise are doing. After this little adventure is over… I must visit them…"

"Hello, Mark," a certain red-haired Lord called out to Mark.

"Ah, Lord Eliwood. Good evening. Most of the people are getting ready to sleep. Won't you?"

"…I can't, Lord Mark." Mark could see that Eliwood's eyes were a tad pink.

"…Lord Eliwood. We have not known each other that long. But… I share your pain. Your father is missing… but do not lose all hope! I promise… Lord Eliwood… that I will help you find your father to the best of my ability!"

"Lord Mark… I thank you. But there seems to be so much secrecy these days… It seems as if there is no one you can truly trust… I need all the help I can get. I can sense that this may be a longer journey than hoped for… I am sorry for burdening you with my troubles."

"No Lord Eliwood. Look… you are naïve. You do not know much about how this world runs. I… I cannot say that I am a master of knowledge, but I can show you what little I do know. Allow Lord Marcus and I to be your aids, and we WILL find your father!"

"…Lord Mark… Thank you… but I must say… no to your request."

"……………."

"Ah, Lord Mark, do not take what I've just said the wrong way. What I meant was… I must make my own decisions… I must do what I have to do. And I will forever be welcome of your support… I am sorry, Lord Mark. If I have offended you… You may leave at any time… But if you pity my cause… If you care about my father, my mother, and I… Then I implore you to stay…"

Mark paused for a few seconds, stunned.

"Ahahahahaha, Lord Eliwood! You have taken the first step to being a true leader! Lord Eliwood… I am far from upset!" Then Mark looked down to his sleeping sister. The he said, more quietly: "Lord Eliwood. I will follow you all the way!"

For the first time for a while, Mark saw Eliwood have a genuine smile of happiness as Eliwood leaned forward and offered a hand to Mark, to which Mark gladly accepted.

"Lord Mark, I will take my leave…"

"Of course… sleep well milord. Tomorrow may be a rough day." Mark told him.

"Yes… good night." Eliwood left to prepare for his sleep.

As Mark watched Eliwood leave, he thought to himself about his own life. Again, Mark looked down to the sleeping girl on his lap.

"Love… is such… a wondrous thing. At so many different time in my life… in all of my most difficult times… Love has helped me overcome my problems… Mother… Father… Sophia… May… Lord Pent… Lady Louise……… Lyn… Thank you. Thank you all."

**Author's Note: **Yes… this chapter… is short… But hey, it's a side chapter. Like it? More and more characters from Roy's story are appearing! Gale… Miledy… Niime… Sophia again… Remember this side chapter… It will play major roles in the future! Well, thanks for reading, folks! Hope you enjoyed it!


	22. Chapter 16: Suspicions Abroad

The next chapter has arrived. Here you go!

**General of Lylat:** Ah, always wonderful to hear from you, General. Haha, your review pained me… Hahaha, reason being that when I wrote the last chapter, I actually _rewrote_ the entire Gale/Miledy section to fit their ages. You see, this is my reasoning… Guinevere in this story can be anywhere between 5-8 years old, IMHO. We know she's younger than Zephiel… I always think of Guinevere as in her mid twenties in Roy's story. For my story to work, Guinevere must be 4 years old right now, and 25 in Roy's story because Eliwood's story shall take 1 year to finish.) And also IMO, Miledy always seemed… a bit older since she was Guinevere's 'bodyguard'… as if she were in her late-twenties… Gale always seemed older than her so I put him as early-thirties… As for Zeiss, I would think he's about Guinevere's age, so he would probably have just been born… Also, Mark wasn't exactly sure of Miledy's age himself… although she had to be old enough to say the words she said.  Haha, at this rate, Gale may be 34-35 years old by Roy's story Narshen would be in his early 30's, Miledy would be 29 or 30… Ellen… holy cow… she's gonna be 31! Ok, THAT has to change since I've always thought Ellen was more of a childhood friend of Guinevere. Yeah, I'll be changing things around in my older chapters to fit what I'm writing now, but of course, there will be nothing major!

Anyways… Thanks a BUNCH for the review, General. I appreciate the fact that you're paying attention to my story! I'll check for those SP errors, too! Thanks again!

**Nightmaster01: **WOW! I haven't seen YOU since your review of my PROLOUGE! Hahaha, so you see the ages of the characters as I see it? Cool. Thanks for the review! I hope to hear more from you! Hahaha, you barely made it… I was just about to submit this chapter before I saw your review!

**The Battle Wizard Chap 16:**

**Suspicions Abroad**

Castle Santaruz

"You! You said you were only going to scare him! You… you almost killed him…" Lord Helman, the Marquess of Santaruz told the black-cloaked man.

"…It was necessary… We… are so close. Only a few more deaths and…"

"N-No… I should… I should never have gotten involved with your bunch… No… First Marquess Pherae… and now this… Get out… Get out of my castle, now!" Lord Helman said with a determination he had not had for over a decade.

"Are you… sure that is what you want?"

"I… have never been so sure of anything in my life!"

"I see… in that case… you are no longer of any use to us..."

"Wha-What?" Lord Helman asked. He knew what was going to happen. In his near 60 years of experience, he had long encountered such events.

The black-cloaked man inhumanly slipped next to Helman and pulled a knife out. Blood dripped from the knife after the black-cloaked man finished his swift, single stroke.

"E-Eliwood… Forgive this old man for his… faults…"

On a hill near Castle Santaruz

"I can see the castle!" Rebecca shouted excitedly.

"Yeah, so can I!" Lowen shouted too.

"Cough" Lowen immediately put on a straight face after seeing Marcus giving him a severe glare.

Eliwood and the his group were still trotting up the hill. When they finally got to the peak, they saw castle Santaruz only a 20 minute march away. Separating Eliwood and the castle, was a river. A few more hills were in between the distance from the river to the group.

"Marcus… we are almost there," Eliwood told him.

"Hmm… yes. We shall finally be able to rest after we arrive…"

"Mark, are you ready?" Eliwood shouted back to him. Mark was still observing Rebecca celebrate and shout abroad the hills.

"Huh? Oh… sure…" Mark said, uncertain. He hadn't even heard Eliwood's question. He was too busy watching Rebecca frolic and play. Lowen, to Marcus's irritation, had joined her in running around the hills.

'Haha, those two… they are having such fun… Well, it has been two tiring battles later… Wait… what's that… that shadow… bushes? There shouldn't be… bushes like _that_!' Mark shifted his gaze closely to the 'bushes' only to see… that they were slowly, but surely moving! 'Whoa!'

Mark slowly took Rebecca's bow and slung an arrow. He carefully aimed at the bush and…

"AHHH!" An archer jumped out of the bush, having reason to do that since he had an arrow protruding out of shoulder. This snapped Marcus up to his horse. Marcus immediately started charging. He took out two of the men in other 'bushes' while letting the arrows harmlessly bounce off his armor.

Rebecca and Lowen had snapped to attention and immediately started retreating to the supply line (Lowen's horse) to equip themselves.

Suddenly, a Javelin was thrown with immense strength in the direction of Eliwood. And yet, just as quick a red cape appeared in front of Eliwood's vision to ward off the javelin. Matthew had seen the javelin from a long way's off and saw that he couldn't block it. So instead, he used his cape like a rope to hoard Eliwood out of harm's way.

Marcus, seeing that, immediately rode back.

"Milord… forgive me… I was… distracted…" Marcus held his head in shame.

"It's alright, Marcus…"

"B-But sir…"

"It happens to the best of us, Marcus… don't brood over it… I need your help," Eliwood said sincerely.

"Ah… Lord Eliwood…" Marcus mused. "Yes. Shall we engage the enemy?"

"No, wait… we need to find out why they are attacking us. Where are the Santaruz guards? Are these bandits? Assassins? We must liberate the castle if that is the case!" Eliwood said determinedly. Eliwood turned to find Mark and Hector, but found that they had a case of their own.

"Blackheart! What have you done with Lord Helman?" Hector shouted, brandishing his axe in a way that nearly hit Mark and Serra.

"WATCH ITTTTTTTTT!" Serra squealed, hiding behind Mark.

"Hahahaha, it's too late for him now! You… will all die here!" The big, near bald, knight shouted with laughter. If the knight had been a bit closer and not on the other side of the river, Hector would have charged him, but being the case, the half-berserker was swinging his axe like a buffoon. He swung it with so much force, it hit the root of a certain snag and broke it down, making it land on the other side of one part of the river… creating a bridge.

"Um… oops…"

"Sigh… well, that decides a lot of things for me… Hector… you, Matthew, and… uh… the other two axe-man…. You four go through that snag… I want you to sneak up on the castle from behind. Cut them up from behind. Also, warn the village there… these thugs may decide to try and loot the village in our battle as well," Mark ordered.

"Lord Mark. I will go with Lord Hector," Oswin 'objected'. Yet it was not a request… it was an order.

"Oswin… as long as you are in this group, you will follow either my orders or Lord Eliwood's orders... Lest be kicked out of it. It is your choice," Mark said calmly. Eliwood almost seemed to intrude, but was help back when Marcus put a hand on the red haired lord's shoulder.

"…" Oswin looked to Lord Hector, whom seemed to be just staring back, clueless.

"How about this… Oswin, if you are so intent upon ruining my plans, very well. I'll give you a choice… do as you will and follow Hector against my wishes, or come with Lord Eliwood's group and let my battle strategy come to bloom," Mark said simply.

"I will do with Lord Hector…" Oswin said again.

"Very well… Lord Hector, command your team. You already know what to do. I'm sending you that way for Lord Eliwood's group must advance immediately and we cannot wait for you to swim in that river to pick up your axe… Everyone… MOVE!" Mark ordered.

"Wait… WHAT??? My axe fell into the river???"

Eliwood's Group

"Alright everyone… Marcus… stick with Eliwood… These men seem to have an intent to assassinate him… Use your armor, speed and skill to protect him! Everyone else… engage the enemy! If you have trouble, retreat immediately to Serra, whom will stick with… me…" Mark said a bit disgruntled after thinking that through a bit more clearly from a personal perspective.

Many axe-men were around the hills, waiting to battle. Archers stood behind them, shooting their arrows.

'Oswin's purpose was originally shield Matthew and Rebecca while Lowen went around the corner and Marcus took rear guard... but he's not here… haha, no problem though… Looks like a reversal will be needed!' Mark thought to himself.

"Matthew! Come!"

"You called, dear Mark?" Matthew came, sneaking up on Mark from behind.

"Whoa… what the… um… yeah, look, Lowen will cause us a distraction… you… will act like an assassin today!"

"Ah… I see what you mean… hahaha, yes… it appears you are becoming a full fledged tactician now! Retreating from battle are you now?" Matthew said slyly. Again, Mark's mind turned to the Gray Blade, and again, Mark had to stop.

"Hahaha, a tactician is what I was meant to be!"

And with a chuckle and a mock salute, Matthew was off.

Meanwhile… with Eliwood and Marcus

Eliwood and Marcus were heading towards another village to the west to warn them of the bandit threat. It wasn't long before they got there.

"Hm… a battle? Hehehe, perfect!" an old lady chuckled.

"Ah, and what do you mean by that, madam?" Eliwood asked politely to the old lady.

"Well… what I meant was… it's a perfect time to test out my new invention! Behold, youngster… The mine!!!"

"Mine? What's yours?"

"No!!! No 'mine'… MINE!!!"

"Um… I'm sorry madam, but I don't have anything of yours…"

"…JUST TAKE IT!"

Back on the main field…

"Lowen!!! Come before me!" Mark shouted.

"Yes, sir! What do you need, sir?" Lowen said, brushing off the hair in his face only to have it come down again within half a second.

"Take a few Javelins, throw, and run after them! I know this is new for you… but Rebecca will have your cover. We have 4 Javelins that can all be reused. Don't waste anything!"

"Yes sir… any um… it's nice to be working with you, sir!" Lowen said, before awkwardly riding towards the enemy, equipped with a Javelin held by each hand.

Mark made the first move by throwing the first Javelin while taking cover behind the hills, hitting his first mark. Lowen followed through with a throw of his own, injuring another archer. Rebecca was firing off arrows behind him, but had already been doing so for a long time. She was running out of them. Matthew was already behind the first enemy line and was thinking about how to strike best. The axe-men were ready to strike at anytime. After seeing another archer fall to a Javelin thrown by Lowen. Matthew purposefully made a lot of noise, coming down and knocking out another archer. The axe-men were about to attack him, but Lowen had already arrived.

Reinforcements were arriving from nearby forts. Matthew saw from a distance that there were a good 20 or 30 of them. The ones furthest back were archers. Matthew immediately reported back to Mark.

"Hmm… what to do, what to do…" Mark was contemplating until Eliwood and Marcus returned.

"Mark… a lady from the village we warned gave us this… she said it was a… a weapon. A mine." Eliwood reported back.

"What's yours?"

Matthew's point

"Hmm... looks like I'll have to cut down the three sneaking over there, eh?" Matthew easily cut up two of the men, whom were axe wielders. The other one was not as easy, however.

It was a man of average height and long hair that was tied up behind him. Matthew saw with his perceptive eye, that the weapon the man was wielding was a Killing Edge, on of the more dangerous of swords. Only Myrmidons, Swordmasters and Assassins could wield them to full effectiveness.

"Hahaha, Guy, long times no see!" Matthew said to the man. Without warning, Matthew stepped in front of the man, standing tall and showed a display of fearlessness. The myrmidon was a bit taken aback.

"W-What? You don't just go up to someone like that on the battlefield! A-And how do you know my name???"

"Haha, don't tell me you've forgotten me already! It's only been a year! Or are you the type to take favors and forget them?" Matthew said with his face but an inch away from Guy's.

"What? I always honor my word… Wait… you… You're Matthew! The guy that… that helped me after I collapsed a year ago at Caelin… you gave me some food…"

"Uh-huh. I'm glad you remember me! Now you can join us and fight these fiends!" Matthew said as suddenly as always.

"W-W-What?????"

Hector's Group

An archer stood on the other side of the river. He looked up at the four men and immediately tried to shoot an arrow at them. But Dorcas was far too swift and beheaded him with the axe-man's equipped Steel Axe.

Bartre entered the village to encounter a strange, stout merchant that was running around, trying to get a few of his supplies into his wagon.

"You… bandits… here… attack… fight…" Bartre started. But the merchant didn't seem to be paying attention. His entire focus seemed to be getting out of there.

"Gotta get to Caelin… Time is running out! And time is money! Gotta hurry, hurry, hurry! Rush, rush, rush!" The man muttered to himself.

"You… deaf? Attack… axe… crush… head…"

The merchant with blue hair turned around to hear Bartre mutter those words.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!! HELP!!!! BANDITS!!!" The man shouted LOUDLY before pulling the wagon out of the mud himself to run away, dropping a torch in his hurry.

"Torch… burn…" Bartre said with a sly smile. The merchant's scream had woken up the rest of the village and they were already closing the gates without Bartre's help.

"Bartre… what on earth are you doing?..." Dorcas came and asked.

"Huh? Oh… um… what am I doing with this torch?"

Hector's side

"Alright," Oswin said after spearing another snag to get across the other side of the river.

"Wonderful, Oswin, and now we just have to sneak up behind them and attack…"

A soldier was on patrol and was about to see them when Oswin ran as fast as he could with his armor on and threw javelin at him. Unfortunately, Hector was running too fast and ran right into Oswin, knocking both of them over. The impact was loud enough so that even Eliwood's group on the other side of the river could hear the noise… It attracted much attention from the enemy.

Mark's side

Enemy archers and cavalry were advancing on the group steadily.

"Alright Guy… You say you're skilled… Let's see just what you've got. Marcus! Go! Block our friend here from the enemy arrows! Eliwood… ride with Lowen and fight the enemy with him! Marcus, engage in battle with them. All you need to do is make it safely to the other side of the bridge. This is when experience is necessary to fight and pave the way for new talent to rise!"

"Mark… what was that large clunking noise we heard earlier?" Rebecca asked in a worried tone.

"…I'm afraid that is the sound of Oswin's failure." Mark replied solemnly. "I just hope they're alright."

Meanwhile, Marcus was fighting off the reinforcements coming from a fort near the bridge. The resistance was fierce. The arrows were coming in like a shower. With the sun blazing down on everyone, there wasn't a single person on the field that was not sweating horribly. Even those that were not fighting were drenched in sweat… or in some cases, blood.

Eliwood got off once Marcus was able to keep a close distance to the bridge.

'Father… I'm using the sword techniques you taught me… You'd be proud if you saw me now. I don't like to kill… I really don't… but if this will bring me a step closer to finding you, father… I'll do it!' Eliwood thought to himself, pulling out his rapier and fighting the archers first, to make way for Lowen, Mark, Rebecca, Serra and the group.

It wasn't long before everyone managed to get across the bridge.

"Now what? They're gonna cross the bridge too!" Rebecca panicked.

"Hahaha, don't worry about that… you know what to do, Matthew!" Mark replied. Matthew nodded and dropped the Mine package on to the center of the bridge before dodging away with the rest of the group.

As everyone ran away and started to storm the castle, a large explosion could be heard in the background. The enemy reinforcements were not getting across that river.

"Hector?" Eliwood saw that Hector and Dorcas were fighting the many soldiers and Pegasus knights that were attacking them. Behind them, Oswin and Bartre were resting their wounds. Eliwood immediately jumped in to help with Lowen, Marcus, and even Serra after his tracks.

"Dang it… they've all jumped into battle without my orders… Guy… Rebecca… it's up to us to fight and capture the castle. Yet… Rebecca! You are almost out of arrows… Matthew… accompany her to the local armory and vendor to get supplies… It would be much better if we had a supply transport that could come with us to keep our supplies… but seeing that we don't have one… we'll have to take all the weapons we can carry! Now go!" Matthew and Rebecca immediately left to follow their orders.

"Mark… what's next?" Guy asked.

"As mentioned before… the castle," Mark said, drawing his iron sword. "Let's see if you can use that Killing Edge of yours to the max!"

"Alright!" Guy drew his blade and together with Mark, they dashed towards the castle, cutting down arrows that were shot at them from the castle top and dismantling enemies that came before their paths.

As they got to the castle gates, they saw the knight that Hector had encountered earlier.

Yet out of nowhere, before Guy and Mark were going to engage in combat with the knight, Hector and Eliwood came out. The rest of the group continued to defend against the enemy while Serra was healing the wounds of Oswin and Bartre.

"YOU!!! YOU'LL PAY!!!" Hector shouted with full force. He charged the knight with his Wolf Beil with Eliwood behind him.

Hector's first shot missed by an inch but Eliwood was behind him to cover up the error by stabbing the knight on his arm and immediately retreating to the rear to let Hector's swing decapitate the knight's left arm. The knight dropped his Steel Lance without a single chance to use it. Eliwood charged forward once more with a final Rapier thrust that finished the knight off.

Together, Eliwood, Hector, Mark and the rest of the group went into the castle triumphantly, right after watching the assassins retreat back across the river.

Yet right before they went in... Oswin pulled Mark from the crowd.

"Lord Mark..." Oswin began.

"No... stop. I don't need it. You understand now... You understand that I give orders for a reason. That is all that need to be said," Mark finished. The two men nodded to each other in understanding. 'Sigh... I only wish the others would as well... This is not a well trained bunch... they don't wait for proper orders to be given. Heh, well... they will learn for I will teach!'

When Eliwood reached the throne room unopposed by the guards of the castle, he saw Lord Helman, bloodied at the foot of the thrown.

"Lord Helman! Lord Helman! Are you alright??"

"Ahh… Eliwood… Is that… you?"

"Lord Helman! Stay with me!"

"…Go… to… Laus… Darin… knows….. all….."

"Lord Helman?"

"He's dead…" Hector stated bluntly.

"…"

"Blast! What's going on? How could this happen?" Hector shouted impatiently with a tad of remorse at the sight of Lord Helman lying there.

"Well… we have to make haste and reach Laus… I have a bad feeling about this… I'm sorry Eliwood… but we don't have time to mourn… We have to leave Lord Helman's burial to the castle… and order the castle to defend itself until the Lycian Counsel has time to meet," Mark said.

"Y-Yes… we must make haste… Let us hurry! I… I must find my father and get to the bottom of this… before anyone else is hurt!"

**Author's Note:** The end of another chapter… Did ya like it? I guess the next chapter is the Merlinus one! Remember to review!!


	23. Chapter 17: The Peddler

Another chapter is here.

**Tatsu55:** Ah, thank you. I'll try and make it longer… but the truth is, while I can… there are times when I'm just lazy and well… it doesn't make for good writing… but I'll try! (Unfortunately, this chapter will be short since it really didn't have too much content in the game.) Thanks for your review!

**Nightmaster01:** Heh, thanks! Hope you'll R&R this chapter as well!

**KiraYamato1:** Hahaha, really? Then I am glad to give you the next chapter! (Only two or three more before Eliwood and Lyn meet up!) Thanks for reviewing!

**Knives91:** Ahh… well… hehe, it's just that there really isn't much more to say except: "Hahaha", "Haha", and "Mark laughed"… The problem is… Mark can't say "LOL", or "ROFL", or "LMAO". Hehehe, although it would be kinda funny to add that! Yeah, but I know what you mean! Alas, don't worry, I'll try my best with my chapters! Thanks for the review!

**The Gamer:** Ah, so you've returned! WOW, you got the FE 4 game pak? Aw… but you don't have the SNES. Wow, that's too bad… LOL, I have the SNES but don't have the game pak, but my friend does! It really is too bad however… FE 4 was one of my favorite Fire Emblems! I LOVED everything you could do in the game… But I felt so sad for what happened to Sigurd… If ya don't know, I won't spoil it for you. The game I'm waiting for right now is FE 10! I wanna play Ike again!!! Hope you'll get to play your game soon and thanks for the review!

**DISCLAIMER:** If you say I own Fire Emblem, Jaffar would say: "…"

**The Battle Wizard Chap 17:**

**The Peddler**

At a village near Castle Caelin

"Hmm… it's dark already…" Eliwood observed. "Marcus!"

"Yes, milord?"

"Gather everyone and set up camp. It's too dark to move any further."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ah… so this is Caelin, Eliwood?" Hector asked.

"Hm. Yes."

"Haha… didn't… um… _you?_ Have something to do with the succession problem last year with the Marquess and… ah… what's her name? Lyndis?" Hector said coyly. Eliwood's radar was as faulty as ever, and detected nothing.

"Um, yes, I believe it was and still is," Eliwood replied, clueless.

"Ah… soooo… ya… don't want to visit her or anything?"

"…What do you mean? We are on a mission here… We have no time to linger around!"

"Well… I hear she's quite the looker… to bad we don't have time to visit her… loverboy!" Hector said.

"H-Hector! S-Stop joking," Eliwood began. But he couldn't finish as he was stunned at seeing Hector flying ten feet by the hand of Mark. Mark clucked once, laughed, and walked away.

"W-What's that guy's problem???" Hector shouted as Oswin came and gave him a hand.

As Mark left to get a breath of fresh air, he saw Matthew pop in out of nowhere. He had a sly look on his face and Mark assumed he must have seen what went on with Hector.

"Yes… a smile is all you need to survive life's harshest punishments. I see you've taken a page out of my book," Matthew said jovially.

"Heh, indeed. Now I understand why you smile so much!" Mark said, imitating Matthew's demeanor.

"Haha, yes… sooooo…. I see our refined Lord Hector has… ah… hit a soft spot?" At seeing Mark's little twitch, Matthew fully confirmed his little suspicion. "Ahh, well, Mark, I think you've made a wonderful descision… like Hector said… SHE is quite a looker… and her personality…"

"Ok, ok. I get the point. I DON'T need you thinking about her too, though!"

"Ahahahaha, it's so funny to see you angry," Matthew teased.

"…Ok… wait…. Matthew? I just… thought of something?"

"Hmm? Oh dear, you haven't thought up a new way to roast me, have you?"

"Heheh, no. I was just wondering… What was an Ostian spy doing at Caelin? Unless… Ostia knew about the succession problems before hand?"

"Ahh, as bright as ever, Mark! Indeed, Ostia had heard of the Caelin problems very early…" Matthew began. But before Mark could say anything else, Matthew quickly added: "But you understand that there was nothing Ostia could actually do, right?"

"Hm. Yes, don't worry Matthew, I understand these politics… maybe not that well, but… nonetheless, I understand the strategy."

"Haha, yes! I knew you would understand! You were always about strategy… But I've seen you have… relented a bit from before?"

"Hmm… Yep!" Mark laughed. "It feeeeeeeels so good to… LET GOOOO AND SMACK" Mark 'accidentally' pushed Matthew into the river while stretching. At seeing Matthew's shocked face, Mark was amused beyond normal entertainment. Matthew's face however, soon turned from unpleasant shock to his usual grin while he got out of the river. "Heheh, that was fun while it lasted."

However, their 'fun' was soon interrupted by a very, VERY loud scream… one that could have easily had a go at Serra's title. Matthew and Mark immediately started running towards the cause of the scream.

"What now?" Mark asked. He saw Hector and Eliwood talking to what seemed to be bandits.

"Mark, there are more bandits around here… a lot more. But it's too dark to see all of them. Nevertheless… with my superior eyesight, I am able to see quite a distance beyond what the average soldier can see… as you remember from experience," Matthew informed, referring to Caelin.

"Yes…" Mark saw that Eliwood and Hector had finished their conversation with the bandits. And by the look on the retreating bandits' faces along with the demeanor of the two lords, the conversation and not gone well.

"Mark! We need you!" Hector shouted.

'No surprise here,' thought Mark.

"Look, we've got to protect this man here, got it?!" Mark looked at the man.

'Dang, this is the guy that screamed? Wow,' Mark thought to himself.

"Mark, we are surrounded. Look. We are on a little island kind of thingy, and there are 5 bridges surrounding us… It won't be long before these guys snap those snags and surround us," Matthew informed.

"Great… Don't worry, though. We won't lose to lowly cutthroats like these! All men gather and listen! It will not be long before the enemy shall surround us. Hector… You and Oswin shall head south-east to the abandoned forts down there. There shouldn't be too many of them in the forts… When they knock down the snag, ambush them." Mark began.

"Heh, don't worry bout us then. We'll get the job done!" Hector said, leaving for his post.

"…Thank you, Lord Mark," Oswin nodded before following Hector.

"Dorcas… Bartre… you two powerhouses will cover the bridges to the west."

"Understood, Mark. We will take care of it," Dorcas fixed.

"Hehehehe… me… cut… men," Bartre followed.

"OHHHHHH MYYYY! It… It is that… BRUTE!" The merchant cried aloud.

"…Let me tell you something. Your voice scares me more than Bartre. What's your name?" Mark asked.

"My name… is MERLINUS!" The merchant said, as if tasting honey.

"Wonderful, now shut your mouth and Eliwood will defend you."

"Wha-What did you tell me to…" Merlinus began, but was too late for Mark had already started talking again.

"Alrighty… Rebecca… I want you to stand on the eastern side and shoot anyone attempting to break that snag over there into a bridge, got it?"

"Hehe, you can count on me!" Rebecca said, joyfully.

"Mark… I can faintly tell the shape of a village across that river to the north-east," Matthew informed.

"Excellent… Matthew, sneak up on over there and warn them… Be careful. I'm sure there are plenty of bandits along the way. But they are clumsy with their axes so you should easily be able to dodge with your speed. Don't stay and fight them if you can avoid them. Join us by heading west once more to join us… We will be there by the time you are done."

"Ha, but what will you do without my superb vision?"

With Dorcas and Bartre

"Hehehe… Me forgot me had this," Bartre said to himself.

"…Bartre… what are you doing?" Dorcas asked almost not wanting to know.

"Hehehe… Me wonder what that sparky stick that man gave me does…"

Back to Mark

"…We will have to do… Our men can hold their own," Mark said, but as if on cue, a huge light had just exploded into sight, lighting up everything on the west side. "…Ok, that's our solution then. Now hurry!"

"…But wait… what is that moving light next to the center flame? …It almost looks as if someone is running around with fire on top of their…"

"YES. EVERYTHING IS FINE. WE HAVE OUR LIGHT AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! NOBODY CARES WHETHER DORCAS IS JUMPING INTO THE RIVER OR BARTRE IS…"

"Yes, boss! I'm off on my way now!"

"…Anyways… Marcus, I want you to accompany Lowen to be our front lines. I'm sure in your 20 plus years of battling, you have at some point fought a battle in the dark. This is a great opportunity for Lowen to learn, too… But for you to learn, Lowen… You must stay alive first! I understand that it may be difficult for horse-riding units to defend any territory, but you'll have to do until Matthew returns. If you are injured, retreat here and Serra will heal you while Lord Eliwood takes over for a bit. Clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" Lowen and Marcus replied. They rode forward to engage the enemy. Marcus allowed Lowen to take the lead, but made sure that he was still close to him.

"Sooo…. What do I do while I'm still standing here?... OH!!! I KNOW!!! You'll keep me company!" Serra squealed to Mark.

"…"

Matthew's mission

'Ha, almost to the village… I see that group of bandits approaching… but they do not see me yet!' Matthew thought to himself. He sprinted behind the group to the side while at once pulling out his dagger. With one swift stroke, he slit the throat of the nearest bandit and kicked another one into the other two. He charged forward and gutted one in the stomach.

Another one swung his axe at Matthew, but was far too slow. The other one threw a Hand Axe, but Matthew saw it coming much earlier and dodged it to grab the man's arm and throw him forward… right into the very Hand axe he had thrown. The last remaining bandit charged at Matthew, but had his chest slashed twice before the bandit could even swing his axe.

"Well, love to stay, but gotta rush!"

Dorcas' mission

"…"

"Um, I didn't mean to… uh… set you on fire?" Bartre said apogetically.

"Yes… I'm sure you didn't…" Dorcas said calmly… right before swinging the dull side of his axe upside Bartre's head.

"H-Hey! T-That's not funny!"

"…Don't worry… you can't become more idiotic than you are now," Dorcas said sardonically.

"Well… it's not completely my fault I become like that sometimes… You know what happens when I get… excited… My speech becomes slurred… and I start acting…"

"Like Bartre," Dorcas finished.

"Yeah… NO, wait!" But Bartre was cut off by a crunching noise near the north tributary of the river.

"…Looks like our guests have arrived…" Dorcas said, readying his heavy Steel Axe.

"Hehehe… me… love fight… Me crush… Bartre looking people!"

Hector's mission

"…Hmph… are we there yet?"

"…No…"

"…………….are we there yet?"

"…NO…"

"Are… we… there… yet…?"

"Yes."

"Are we… oh." Hector shut his mouth when he finally saw the two mini-forts directly a few yards in front of him. (**A/N:** For those of you whom use the metric system that haven't been taught the 'imperial' system, you can substitute meters for yards… it's not the same, but it conveys the same type of atmosphere yards do in this context of the story.)

"Alright… now…"

"Now we fight!" Hector shouted. "COME OUT! COME OUT! I'M HERE! I AM HERE AND I WILL WHOOP YOUR…" But Hector was cut off by an arrow that was shot from the castle that luckily only grazed his left arm.

'So much for ambushing anyone,' thought Oswin.

"Heh, you cocky, high borned bluebloods… You all think you're high and mighty down there. You eat and drink and have all the fine stuff, but we here got nothing! Out here… we'll take our revenge!" The archer shouted. Then, he and another archer brazenly (and perhaps mistakenly) shot down a snag to create a bridge for Hector to cross.

"Pff… You can't beat me!" Hector shouted while charging towards the forts.

"…Lord Uther… How do I control the maniac brother of yours? I can't keep up…" Oswin said while charging with Hector. His heavy armor was heavily impairing his movement. Yet it offered extreme protection from the barrage of arrows shot by the four archers a top the little forts.

Hector, meanwhile, was slashing and beheading all the axe-man then came within his range. The body count was 5 until a mercenary with a Steel Sword came into view.

"Heh, so you wanna play too? Then come on over here!" Hector shouted as he charged forward. Yet, he surprisingly missed as the mercenary jumped back. Hector tried again and again to no avail. Then, after another try, just when he thought the mercenary would retreat again to his advance, the mercenary jumped forward and gashed Hectors right thigh.

"Wha-What?" Hector said, deeply surprised. The archers two forts took the opportunity to rain down arrows on Hector. Hector dodged but knew he couldn't dodge and fight the mercenary at the same time. 'Soon, my luck will run out…'

But as he thought that, he heard a squishing sound and turned to see a lance protruding out of the mercenary's chest with Oswin standing behind him.

"Swords beat Axes. Lances beat Swords," Oswin said. Then he ran up to Hector to shield him. "Now let's go. You head up the left fort, I'll head right."

"…Yes, Oswin!"

Hector and Oswin ran their separate paths to finish off the remainders of each fort.

Rebecca's mission

"Hehe, this is almost too easy," Rebecca said to herself while punching arrows into the enemies attempting to break the snag and cross over. But she had spoke to soon as she saw the all of a sudden break. She had been too concentrated with enemies to the left to see the axe-man to the right.

Then, Rebecca dodged a Hand Axe, but tripped due to the effort. Another axe-man with a cheap Iron Axe seized the opportunity to rush across the snag to attack Rebecca. But he was almost immediately gutted by a rapier after making it across the snag.

"Lord Eliwood!" Rebecca cried.

"Ah, milady… Lord Mark asked me… to lend a hand…" Eliwood said. Then he gave her a low bow. However, the Hand Axe bandit of before had used this time to prepare for a close range attack from behind. But this time, Rebecca was ready and shot the bandit with an arrow to his forehead.

"Ah… I guess, I gotta be ready at all times…" Eliwood said as he turned around.

"Ha, don't worry! I got your back as long as you got mine!" Rebecca said.

"Yes, Rebecca. Here is a vulnerary Lord Mark asked me to keep in handy," Eliwood said, handing over the vulnerary to her.

"Thanks a bunch!"

Eliwood then stood in position to handle the closer ranged enemies while Rebecca continued to exchange shots with the archers.

Lowen's mission

"A knight must be prepared for anything… A knight must be prepared for anything…" Lowen repeated to himself continuously. It was the mantra he always kept by. It was also the mantra that brought him to his love of cooking so that he would be able to prepare food at any situation. It was the mantra that kept Lowen always used to make sure he was set with both an Iron Sword and an Iron Lance at all times.

The enemies were everywhere, but Lowen handled. Whenever a mercenary unit came up, he took out his Iron Lance. Whenever an axe-man was around, Lowen branded his Iron Sword. He also knew that if he got into a tight spot, his teacher, Sir Marcus would spring into action and help.

'It is that thought that gives me courage in this battle in the dark. I'll keep fighting!' Lowen thought to himself. But then, an enemy with a Steel Blade came up to plate.

"You! Are you friend or foe?" Lowen shouted boldly.

"Heh! I'm Puzon! The leader of the Caelin turf bandits! Now the Taliver are gone, we're in charge!"

"Very well then, you shall die where you stand!" Lowen took out his Javelin and gave a well aimed throw and immediately rushed forward with his lance. As he expected, Puzon managed to dodge the Javelin but was pierced by Lowen's lance at the right shoulder. Puzon dropped his blade in recoil and was taken out by Lowen's next shot.

But during the battle, Lowen did not see a nearby archer, waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot.

"Hehehe, I don't care about Puzon! He expected me to shoot that horseman while he distracted me, but pfft. Now that he's gone, I'm the new leader!" But the archer's leadership barely lasted a second. For the moment those words left his lips… a dagger was protruding from his chest.

"Heh… looks like I didn't completely miss the action!" Matthew said, while cleaning his dagger in the river.

Marcus rounded up the remaining enemies and the battle was won.

An exhausted Mark called a new conference regarding the battle to make sure everyone was alright.

"And SOOOO…" Serra went on…. And on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on…. And on… and on… and on… and on…. And on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on… and on ever since the beginning of battle to the end of the battle. Mark hadn't had a single minute of peace since the battle begun. Now he could finally find something to distract Serra with. Lowen… and his wounds.

'Sigh, if only good old Erk was here. Then Serra would have someone to keep company… Alas… he's not here… I wonder what he's up to right now?' Mark thought to himself.

"Alright people… great work…. All of you. You all accomplished a bunch and I'm proud. Anyways… now to get to business…" Mark said. "You. What are you going to do?" Mark asked the Merlinus.

"Ahh, I must thank you all for saving me! Merlinus is grateful! Is there any thing dear Merlinus may do for you?" Merlinus asked.

"Pfft. We don't need a peddler's goods," Hector said carelessly.

"Wha-What? P-P-Peddler???"

"…Hector… You're being rude again," Eliwood said.

'Like he's ever kind,' Mark thought to himself.

"W-Well anyways…" Merlinus continued. "You two look like you were both born off high horses… May you grant humble Merlinus permission to ask your noble names?"

"Of course. I am Lord Eliwood of Pherae and my companion here is Lord Hector of Ostia…" Eliwood told Merlinus.

"O-Ostia and Pherae? The two highest regions of Lycia! Great sirs! Merlinus has always carried a deep dream to serve those of the noble class… You must let Merlinus come with you! I can help you manage all of your goods and carry anything you need!"

"Well… that really won't be…" Eliwood started.

"Actually, that's fine with me," Hector interrupted.

"Hector?" Eliwood turned to Hector.

"Well… I have a gut feeling that this journey will still last a while… Now that Laus is in play and all… It'll be good to have someone carry our stuff along the way," Hector explained.

"Yes! Anything you have, Merlinus will keep!"

**Author's Note:** Ah… hahahaha, 99 reviews! One more to one hundred! My first next review shall be 100! Who will it be? Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter… Sorry it came late, but at least the chapter was a bit longer than normal! And by the way… did ya hear? IKE IS GOING TO BE IN SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL! Yay. Can't wait for the North American release of 'Goddess of Dawn'. Hehe, Ike is my favorite character of all times… Well… talk to ya next chapter!


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